My wife and I are hoping to acquire a property in Audlem and have appointed a Audlem conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. TSB have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Audlem lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Audlem lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am assisting my mother sell her house in Audlem. Will the conveyancer commission an energy performance certificate or should I organise this?
After the demise of Home Packs, energy assessments was maintained a compulsory component of moving property. An energy performance certificate needs to be to hand in advance of the property being marketed. This is not something that lawyers normally arrange. Where you are using a Audlem conveyancing solicitor they may be able to arrange energy assessments due to their relationships with long established local providers
Is it correct that all Audlem CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
I am expecting a OIP from Nationwide this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Nationwide recommend any Audlem solicitors on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Audlem solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Nationwide through the process.
I acquired my home on 7 April and the transaction details is yet to be on the land registry website. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in Audlem advises it will be formalised inside ten days. Are titles in Audlem particularly slow to register?
As far as conveyancing in Audlem is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than anywhere else in the country. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry communicate with any 3rd persons or bodies. At present in the region of three quarters of submission are fully addressed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to longer delays. Historically registration is effected after the new owner has moved in to the property therefore an expedited registration is not always top priority yet where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers can communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Audlem. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Audlem
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The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Please supply a car parking plan. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Audlem is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Audlem are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Audlem you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Audlem may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I pay a service charge for my ground floor flat in Audlem. Due to losing my job and personal issues I slipped behind with payments. I negotiated a settlement plan but there is still about £2000 currently due.
I am under pressure to dispose of the property and I am worried this could hold me back if I have to settle the arrears first. I'd like to sell up and subsequently discharge the arrears from the proceeds - is this viable?
You should speak with the conveyancer carrying out your Audlem conveyancing but one option might be to agree for the debt to be attributed to the buyers. The sale price they pay would be reduced to reflect the amount of debt they take on. They would then pay the fees following completion of the sale.