Frequently asked questions relating to the New Life Mortgages Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
The solicitor I had intended to instruct on a purchase said he will levy higher legal fees if my lender is because of their unusual legal requirements. Am I likely to be frustrated using New Life Mortgages? Any comments will be appreciated
New Life Mortgages conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as New Life Mortgages will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My fiance and I are refinancing our penthouse with New Life Mortgages. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to New Life Mortgages .This is solely used to protect the New Life Mortgages if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of New Life Mortgages had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
What tools are available to find a local solicitor on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 20 kilometers to meet the lawyer.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel search on this page. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the New Life Mortgages solicitor panel.
I was expecting to move into my dream home last Friday. My solicitor is on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not advised New Life Mortgages of their new address. New Life Mortgages is now refusing to release my funds as the information from the solicitors isn't correct.
This is a rare situation indeed. The majority of lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local New Life Mortgages branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
The mortgage over my property is with New Life Mortgages. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform New Life Mortgages?
New Life Mortgages must be informed of your intention in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of New Life Mortgages’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let 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 New Life Mortgages directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel firm.
I have instructed a lawyer having checked that they are on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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Having read lots of house buying,I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
New Life Mortgages will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually New Life Mortgages will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey.
You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
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Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with New Life Mortgages you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.
New Life Mortgages have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up New Life Mortgages or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. New Life Mortgages will tell you what documents they want. New Life Mortgages will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. New Life Mortgages will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.