I am 3 weeks into the sale of my apartment in Guildford and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Guildford ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
My wife and I intend to remortgage our flat in Guildford with Leeds Building Society. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Leeds Building Society. This is solely used to protect Leeds Building Society if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Leeds Building Society had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Guildford. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Coventry BS, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you intend to re-mortgage then Coventry BS will require that you use a conveyancer on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Coventry BS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Coventry BS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as a 1st time purchaser of a garden flat in Guildford. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on completion from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Guildford?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
is it true that all Guildford solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Principality conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be overseen by the CLC.
Our sealed bid on a house in Guildford has been agreed to, the owners do nevertheless have a connected purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Guildford. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with Co-operative going?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Guildford conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Co-operative approved list. Regarding the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many buyers will apply for the mortgage with Co-operative and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their lawyer to move forward with searches.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Guildford ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to give a mortgage on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Guildford. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Guildford especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Guildford.
What are the frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Guildford properties?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Guildford. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
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A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.
I inherited a studio flat in Guildford, conveyancing formalities finalised October 2002. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Guildford with an extended lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2102
With just 76 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.