I am selling my flat in Scotter and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Scotter ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 25 years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says 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. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
A friend recommended that if I am purchasing in Scotter I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Scotter conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Scotter around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Scotter Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Scotter Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Scotter.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Scotter with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it would put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I have been recommended by a few selling agents in Scotter to choose a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to recommend your site ahead of another?
We don’t give any financial incentive for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Is it best to use a Scotter conveyancing practitioner based in the location that I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can deal with the conveyancing but they are based 400kilometers away.
The benefit of a high street Scotter conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were impressed that must trump using an unfamiliar Scotter conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.
My husband and I may need to rent out our Scotter basement flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Scotter conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
A small minority of properties in Scotter do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.
Scotter Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? How much is the ground rent and service charge? How long is the Lease?