My partner and I are hoping to acquire a house in Aberdovey and have instructed a Aberdovey conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Aberdovey conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender 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 and you may continue to use your own Aberdovey solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Aberdovey last March but my buyer keeps whats apping daily to say his lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What should have happened following completion?
Following your house sale your solicitor should forward the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your lawyer must also evidence that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion procedures just for conveyancing in Aberdovey.
My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Aberdovey and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a factory type conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Aberdovey. We have lived in Aberdovey for six years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Georgian property in Aberdovey. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Nationwide Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Aberdovey and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
Is it best to appoint a Aberdovey conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can conduct the conveyancing however her office is approximately 350kilometers away.
The benefit of a local Aberdovey conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Aberdovey know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and on the whole were impressed that should outweigh using an unknown Aberdovey conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.
I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Aberdovey. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?
A small minority of properties in Aberdovey do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.
Aberdovey Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
-
It would be prudent to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending the funds. Who are the managing agents?