My wife and I are acquiring a brand new duplex in Amesbury and my lawyer is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I would rather not delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I have a decision in principle. The bank mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to use their panel solicitor as I would prefer to appoint a Amesbury based conveyancing firm?
You should check but the chances are that give you one of their panel conveyancers where you take up the "fee-free" offer. Speak to the mortgage company and ask if they make available a monetary alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor near Amesbury.
My partner and I are at the point of looking at apartments in Amesbury and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a mortgage with Coventry BS.
It would be advisable to start your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the selling agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Coventry BS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Virgin Money are being a right pain. The Amesbury solicitor who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Virgin Money are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Virgin Money have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Virgin Money have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Virgin Money may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Our sealed bid on a property in Amesbury has been accepted, the sellers do nevertheless have an associated purchase. The vendors have placed an offer on on an apartment, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury. What should be my next step? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then valuation, Amesbury conveyancing search costs, etc). The first course of action is to check that your conveyancer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Regarding the next phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a rising market some buyers would apply for a home loan with Virgin Money and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their conveyancer to press on with the conveyancing in Amesbury.
Do I need to pay for insurance to cover chancel repairs when acquiring a house in Amesbury?
Unless a prior acquisition of the property completed after 12 October 2013 you can take it that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Amesbury to continue to propose a a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
I used Stirling Law several years ago for my conveyancing in Amesbury. I now require my file however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Amesbury of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
We are soon to exchange on the purchase a property in Amesbury but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have agreed reparation from the owner of £3k in the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process however the mortgage company will not agree to this. Should they have been involved?
The conveyancer listed on a mortgage company conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform the bank of any amendments to the sale figure. In the event that you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to notify the price change to your bank then they would have to discontinue acting for you and the bank.