Me and my fiance are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Pontyclun with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Pontyclun solicitor, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Pontyclun lawyer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to insist that the mortgage company use our Pontyclun property lawyer ?
No, not really. 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 Pontyclun conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
At what point will exchange of contracts occur in purchase conveyancing in Pontyclun and do I need to be at the conveyancers branch?
Where you are near to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Pontyclun you are invited in to sign contracts. However, the law practices we recommend provide countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when dealing with you electronically. The executing of the purchase agreement is not the important part. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the solicitor to officially exchange when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is is usually a five minute process, although where an extended "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Pontyclun)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
Do I need to pop into the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Pontyclun so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for lenders undertake the vast majority of communications through Royal Mail, e-mail or over phone calls. This enables them to conduct the legal work for your home move no matter where you live in the country. Nevertheless you should see if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
How does conveyancing in Pontyclun differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Pontyclun come to us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because developers in Pontyclun tend to acquire the land, 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 conveyancers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Pontyclun or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one close by in Pontyclun I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Pontyclun suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.