My fiance and I are planning to purchase a home in Barlaston and Tittensor and have appointed a Barlaston and Tittensor 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. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Barlaston and Tittensor lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender 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 lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Barlaston and Tittensor lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We are a couple about to sign contracts for a ground floor flat in Barlaston and Tittensor. We have hit a stumbling block. Our mortgage offer with Nottingham Building Society expires on 22/4/2025 but the owners are putting forward a completion date of 24/4/2025. Can one extend the mortgage expiry date?
The best person to deal with your concern is your solicitors who is in a position to calculate if he or she is should be discussing with the mortgage company, seller’s lawyers, estate agents or conceivably all three given the circumstances your transaction to date.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my property in Barlaston and Tittensor. Conveyancing solicitors have now been appointed on the sale but I am unable to locate my title deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be retained by the lender or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who handled the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Barlaston and Tittensor involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
My grandmother passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Barlaston and Tittensor. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to TSB, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
If you intend to re-mortgage then TSB will insist on your using a conveyancer on the TSB conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your TSB conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the TSB mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as a first time purchaser of a garden flat in Barlaston and Tittensor. Do I pick up the keys to the property on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Barlaston and Tittensor?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the vendor’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Barlaston and Tittensor. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
My offer on a property in Barlaston and Tittensor has been accepted, the owners do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The owners have placed an offer on on an apartment, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Barlaston and Tittensor. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Nottingham started?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Barlaston and Tittensor conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your conveyancer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your transaction, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a hot market some buyers would apply for the mortgage with Nottingham and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with searches.
How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial offices in Barlaston and Tittensor and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to gives a safeguard to commercial lessees, giving them the dueness to apply to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease comes to an end. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complex. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing practices who use the act to your advantage and help with commercial conveyancing in Barlaston and Tittensor