Is the fact that my solicitor in Bacup is not on my mortgage company's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of his work?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the Bacup conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.
I am the only beneficiary of my late father’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Bacup. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in May. I want to move. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the property in May. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be impacted by that. Some mortgage companies would take a pragmatic view as this requirement chiefly exists to capture subsales or the flipping of property.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Clydesdale. Bacup conveyancing solicitors were selected. How long does it take for Clydesdale to send the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Clydesdale done the valuation? Have you advised Clydesdale as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
Santander have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a flat in Bacup has been accepted, what happens next?
Your property agent will need to be informed of your conveyancer's details (ensure that the property lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Call up Santander or your broker and finish off any outstanding paperwork. Santander will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or owners to arrange a time for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Santander will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Bacup.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Bacup I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Bacup in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
Do I need to be suspicious that estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a web based conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Bacup conveyancing practice?
As is the case with lots of professional services, often referrals from relatives can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are lots of people with a vested interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all recommend lawyers to use. Sometimes the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there behind the scenes commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are free to choose your own conveyancer. However, bear in mind that some lenders specify a panel list of solicitors you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your transaction.
I am a couple of weeks into a residential purchase having been recommend to a firm by the high street agent to handle our conveyancing in Bacup. We are not happy. Can you help me find new lawyers?
A lawyer would have to be really bad in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage offer been issued? In the event that it has you need to advise them of the new contact details and have the loan are re-issued. The solicitor ideally needs to be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid supplemental charges and complications. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The find a solicitor tool can help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Bacup
The lawyers handling our conveyancing in Bacup has forwarded documents to review that state the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Why is the property not currently recorded at the Land Registry?
Whilst most properties in Bacup are now registered with HM Land Registry there are still a few that are unregistered. Any property in Bacup that has been purchased since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Bacup property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Plenty of Bacup conveyancing practitioners should be familiar with this type of conveyancing but if any uncertainty reigns the standard advice these days is for the seller to register the title first and subsequently sell - this can though naturally cause a significant delay.