My husband and I are planning to acquire a property in Aldeburgh and have instructed a Aldeburgh conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Santander have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Aldeburgh lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Aldeburgh lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am the registered owner of a freehold residence in Aldeburgh but nevertheless charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Aldeburgh and has limited impact for conveyancing in Aldeburgh but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 will be extinguished.
We're in Aldeburgh, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Virgin Money , and our solicitor is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no solicitor should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I note that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to have this when purchasing a residence in Aldeburgh? or I am told that there is a law dating back centuries that could mean that owners of property living in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for repairs towards the chancel in proximity to the church. Is this appropriate for conveyancing in Aldeburgh?
Unless a prior purchase of the house took place post 12 October 2013 you could assume that solicitors handling conveyancing in Aldeburgh to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Aldeburgh?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Aldeburgh. 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…’
Do I have to pop into the offices of the lender conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Aldeburgh so that I can attend their offices if required.
As opposed to ten years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Aldeburgh.