It is 10 years ago since I bought my house in Market Deeping. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't track down my title deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they may be archived with the solicitor who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Market Deeping relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
we are a couple who are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Market Deeping with a loan from The Royal Bank of Scotland.We have a Market Deeping conveyancing practitioner but The Royal Bank of Scotland says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint a The Royal Bank of Scotland panel solicitor or retain our high street solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that The Royal Bank of Scotland use our lawyer?
No, not really. The loan issued to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that conveyancers will be on the The Royal Bank of Scotland approved list. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for The Royal Bank of Scotland
I am assisting my step-mother sell her property in Market Deeping. Will the solicitor arrange the energy assessment or it is for the seller to coordinate?
Following the abolition of Home Information Packs, EPC’s became a mandatory component of selling a house. An EPC needs to be commissioned in advance of the property being advertised. This is not a task that law firms ordinarily arrange. If you are using a Market Deeping conveyancing lawyer they might help arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with reputable Market Deeping accredited person
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Lloyds. Market Deeping conveyancing practitioners were selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Lloyds?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Lloyds conducted the valuation? Have you advised Lloyds as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
The mortgage over my property is with Yorkshire BS for my property in Market Deeping. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?
You must advise Yorkshire BS prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Yorkshire BS will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Yorkshire BS directly. You need not do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor.
My relative recommended that where I am buying in Market Deeping I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Market Deeping conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Market Deeping around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Market Deeping.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Market Deeping before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some lenders may not issue a mortgage on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Market Deeping. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Market Deeping to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.