My partner and I are looking to acquire a property in Mansfield and have appointed a Mansfield conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Halifax have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Mansfield lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Mansfield lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Mansfield?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Mansfield. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Mansfield differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Mansfield approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because developers in Mansfield tend to acquire the real estate, 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 Mansfield or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and identified one close by in Mansfield I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Mansfield for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I am planning to acquire a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in Mansfield who is on the lender solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a Mansfield solicitor?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for the mortgage company who carry out conveyancing in Mansfield. We dont recommend any particular solicitor.