I have just started taking steps with the aim of switching my current residential mortgage to a BTL Britannia mortgage. I was told by my mortgage that I require a conveyancer as part of the process. I spoke to my previous Histon conveyancing firm who dealt with the legals when I first acquired the property. The quote sent of just over five hundred pounds is surprising as its a refinance than a sale or purchase.

The estimate fees are a bit high. Where you are happy to expend time comparing prices you could trim some of the cost by perhaps £100 plus VAT. That being said, providing that you were happy with the conveyancing the firm provided you maycome to regret choosing an an unknown conveyancer. If is important to ensure the firm can act for Britannia. Do use our search tool to locate a Histon conveyancing firm on the Britannia approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Histon.

It is a dozen years since I purchased my property in Histon. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I am unable to track down my title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be retained by the mortgage company or they may stored with the conveyancers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Histon involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.

Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to have a meeting at the offices of the solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Histon so that I can attend their offices when needed.

Whereas this was necessary twenty years ago, the vast majority banks no longer oblige their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. You will still be obliged to provide identification documents and there are still distinct advantages to instructing a locally based practitioner, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Histon.

A colleague advised me that in buying a property in Histon there could be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external alterations to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Histon which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Histon should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

is it true that all Histon solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Principality approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

My wife and I have organised the release of further monies on our home loan from Skipton as we want to carry out alterations to our home in Histon. Are we obliged to appoint a nearby Histon solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Skipton would not normally appoint 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 Skipton list.

I'm buying my first flat in Histon with a mortgage from Birmingham Midshires. The sellers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not disclose to my conveyancer about the side-deal as it would adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.