My partner and I are purchasing a brand new duplex in Baildon and my solicitor is informing me that she has to the bank to disclose incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I don't want to prolong matters. 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 provisions. 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 note that you have a post code search directory listing solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Baildon?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Santander conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Baildon.
Can you point me to a directory of Co-operative panel solicitors in Baildon on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such directory service on the CML or Building Society Association sites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings available on the web. Where you are seeking to appoint a Baildon solicitor on the Co-operative please use our tool.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Coventry BS. I assume I don't need a Baildon lawyer on the Coventry BS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Coventry BS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Coventry BS mortgage from the register. Coventry BS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Coventry BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Coventry BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Baildon. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
Should our solicitor be raising enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Baildon.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Baildon. There are those who buy a house in Baildon, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be initiated by the buyer or by their conveyancers which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Baildon. The standard property information forms sent to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual question of the owner to determine if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past which is not notified by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a claim for damages as a result of such an misleading response. A buyer’s conveyancers should also conduct an environmental search. This should disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be initiated.
Me and my brother purchased a terraced Victorian property in Baildon. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Platform Home Loans Ltd. 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 with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 Baildon and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
I acquired a flat in Baildon last 10/7/2024 and to date it is still not registered with HM Land Registry. It was part of a development site and my conveyancing practitioner told me that it may take one year to complete the registration formalities. I have spoken with the Land Registry directly and they say that the original application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. Should I be concerned?
It is your property lawyer that you should contact in order to satisfy any concerns which have been raised as part of the registration formalities for your Baildon property. Normal Baildon conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the previous owner’s lawyer that they will assist in resolving any requirements raised by HMLR so it may be a case of seeking to enforce that undertaking if necessary.