My wife and I are hoping to purchase a property in Basildon and are in fact using a Basildon conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. TSB have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Basildon solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Basildon lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
When it comes to lenders such as Barclays, do Basildon property lawyers face a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We were going to get a OIP from Santander this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Santander recommend any Basildon solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Basildon solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Santander conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Santander through the process.
I have finally had an offer on an apartment in Basildon accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Basildon. What should be my next step? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with HSBC?
It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Basildon conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your conveyancer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent steps this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many buyers will apply for a home loan with HSBC and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with the conveyancing in Basildon.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and identified one near me in Basildon I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Basildon in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities 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 solicitor regarding this matter.
Hoping to buy a property located in Basildon and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Basildon. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Basildon area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Basildon. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Basildon. I happened to chance upon a site which seems to have the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all this stuff completed via web that would be ideal. Do I need to be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Is there a distinction between surveying and conveyancing in Basildon?
Conveyancing - in Basildon or elsewhere - is the legal term given to transferring legal title of property from one person to another. It therefore includes the investigation of the title. Whether buying or selling, you should be aware of anything affecting the property such as proposals by government departments, illegal buildings, or outstanding rates. The conveyancer should conduct the appropriate searches and inquiries on the property. Surveying relates to the structure of a property itself. A surveyor will look at a house, flat and any outbuildings you are buying and will help you find out about the condition of the building and, if there are problems, give you a powerful reason for negotiating the buying price down or asking the vendor to remedy the problems prior to you complete your move.