I am purchasing a new build duplex in Appleton and my solicitor is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and my preference is not to prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We're in Appleton, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is RBS , and our lawyer is on the RBS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the RBS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no lawyer 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.
Will my lawyer be making enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Appleton.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in Appleton. Plenty of people will purchase a house in Appleton, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that may be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Appleton. The conventional set of property information forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the vendor to determine whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past and is not notified by the seller, then a buyer may commence a compensation claim resulting from an misleading response. A purchaser’s lawyers will also order an environmental report. This should higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be made.
My wife and I have a terraced Edwardian house in Appleton. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Barclays Direct. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Appleton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
Do I need to be wary that 3rd parties that I am dealing with are recommending an online conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Appleton conveyancing firm?
As is the case with lots of professional services, often input from relatives can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are many parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders may put forward lawyers to use. On occasion the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there might be a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You have the discretion to select your own conveyancer. You need to be aware that the majority of lenders specify a panel list of law firms you are obliged to use for the lender aspect of your home move.
We are first time buyers just having agreed a price on a property in Appleton, and need to get solicitors instructed. I have used the numerous rating based websites and the results are from all over the the UK. Is it necessary to have a Appleton solicitor local to your potential house? We are happy to do everything over email, but I am thinking at some point we will be required to physically go into the conveyancer's office to sign contracts?
Usually there is no requirement to attend the office of your solicitor, they can send any relevant documents to you, which you can sign and return. Many buyers and sellers choose to instruct a locally based solicitor, but it is not essential for conveyancing in Appleton.