My partner and I are looking to purchase a home in Beaufort and have instructed a Beaufort conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Coventry Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Beaufort conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage 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 property lawyer 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Beaufort solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We are about to sign contracts for a leasehold flat in Beaufort. We encountered a snag. The mortgage offer with Coventry Building Society runs out on 13/10/2025 but the owners are suggesting a completion date of 15/10/2025. Is it possible to extend the loan offer?
The person best placed to deal with your concern is your solicitors who should calculate if they better off negotiating with the bank, seller’s lawyers, selling agents or possibly all parties given the history of your house move to date.
My colleague recommended that where I am purchasing in Beaufort I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Beaufort conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Beaufort around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Beaufort.
My wife and I purchased a terraced Edwardian property in Beaufort. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and National Westminster Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. Is it worth asking National Westminster Bank to clarify?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Beaufort and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
I am buying a new build apartment in Beaufort. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Beaufort
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There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please supply a car parking plan. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. 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. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.
My husband and I are one month into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the high street agent to execute conveyancing in Beaufort. We are not happy. Can you help me find new lawyers?
A lawyer would need to be very bad to suggest replacing them. Has the loan offer been sent? If so you need to advise them of the new contact details and ensure the loan are issued to the new lawyers. The solicitor ideally should be on the banks panel to avoid escalating charges and complications. That should be your first question of the new conveyancers. Our find a solicitor tool can help you find a lender approved lawyer for your home move in Beaufort