Me and my fiance are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Abertillery with a mortgage. We like our Abertillery solicitor, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Abertillery lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This feels very unfair; can we not demand that the bank use our Abertillery conveyancer ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you 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. A further alternative is for your Abertillery conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My lawyer has uncovered a a problem with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Abertillery. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that he must be satisfied that the lender is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your solicitor will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
My home in Abertillery is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my conveyancing practitioner need to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.
What tools are available to locate a Abertillery solicitor on the Halifax conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am prepared to travel upto 10kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the tool on this page. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Abertillery conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have detailed some Abertillery conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to see whether they are on the Halifax approved list
I work for a busy estate agency in Abertillery where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Abertillery conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I purchased a basement flat in Abertillery, conveyancing was carried out in 2011. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Abertillery with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2093
You have 69 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.