My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a house in Albrighton and have appointed a Albrighton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. National Westminster Bank have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Albrighton lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Albrighton solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My brother and I have lately purchased a house in Albrighton. We have noticed several issues with the property which we consider were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? What searches should? have been ordered as part of conveyancing in Albrighton?
The query is not clear as to the nature of the problems and if they are specific to conveyancing in Albrighton. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken during the buying process are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor completes a questionnaire called a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers turns out to be misleading, then you may have a claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Albrighton.
My stepmother advised me that in buying a property in Albrighton there may be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external alterations to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Albrighton which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Albrighton should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
When it comes to lenders such as RBS, do Albrighton solicitors incur a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Albrighton solicitor - who is on the RBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS 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 Albrighton 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.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Albrighton?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Albrighton. 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…’
I was advised by a few property agents in Albrighton to choose a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to market your site rather than another?
We refuse to offer any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
My father has urged me to instruct his conveyancing solicitors in Albrighton. Should I choose my own property lawyer?
There are no two ways about it the ideal way to select a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or family who have actually experience in using the firm that you are are thinking of instructing.