My partner and I are planning to acquire a flat in Andover and are in fact using a Andover conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Andover conveyancer 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 bank 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Andover lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are planning to acquire a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Andover who is on the Kent Reliance solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Kent Reliance . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Andover.
We are buying a house in Andover. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I just acquired a house at auction in Andover. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?
Now that you have legally committed yourself to purchase you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner soon as you are faced with a pending a fixed date to complete the conveyancing. An auction property will have a bespoke legal set of papers. This will likely include most,if not all of the documents that your conveyancer requires. In the case of leasehold premises the auction pack should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. Do make sure that you have funds in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
We expect to receive a DIP from Nationwide this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Nationwide recommend any Andover solicitors on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Andover solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Nationwide through the process.
Should my lawyer be raising questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Andover.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Andover. Plenty of people will purchase a property in Andover, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Andover. The conventional set of information sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the vendor to determine if the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer could commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading answer. The purchaser’s lawyers may also conduct an enviro report. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be carried out.
When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Andover what are the most frequent lease problems?
Leasehold conveyancing in Andover is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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A duty to insure the building
A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.
I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Andover, conveyancing was carried out in 1997. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Andover with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098
With just 72 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
How does one remove a deceased person's name from the title deeds for a house in Andover?
Where a Andover property is jointly owned and one of the owners dies, the name will not automatically be removed from the Land Registry title. You are not required to amend the title as in the event of a sale your conveyancer would just be asked to evidence why the co proprietor is not a party to the conveyance, normally this is in the form of the probate documents.
With a view to making things more straight forward in the future you can apply to have the deceased party removed from the title entries by submitting an application to HMLR with proof of the death. There is no land registry fee payable.