We are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Caterham with a mortgage. We like our Caterham lawyer, however the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or keep our Caterham conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel that this is unjust; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Caterham property lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Caterham conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Please help - my lawyer says that chancel insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Caterham conveyancing?
The right level of chancel indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
My husband and I have organised the release of further monies on our home loan from Lloyds as we intend to carry out renovations to our property in Caterham. Are we obliged to appoint a nearby Caterham solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Lloyds don't usually instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Lloyds panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Bank of Ireland are being problematic. The Caterham solicitor who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Bank of Ireland are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Bank of Ireland have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Bank of Ireland have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Bank of Ireland may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
How does conveyancing in Caterham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Caterham approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because developers in Caterham tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Caterham or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Caterham I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Caterham in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
What tools are available to identify a Caterham law firm on the The Mortgage Works conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am prepared to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the facility on this website. Please select a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Caterham conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Caterham conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to verify whether they are on the The Mortgage Works panel
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in Caterham. I have discover a site which seems to have the perfect offering If there is a chance to get all the legals done via email that would be preferable. Should I be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?