My wife and I are looking to buy a property in Bedfont and have instructed a Bedfont conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. HSBC Bank have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Bedfont lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Bedfont solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
The property market in Bedfont is hotting up. What can I do to expedite matters?
Where you are under time constraints for your conveyancing it is advisable to make sure that your conveyancer is familiar with the area as they will benefit local connections and knowledge. It is possible that they would have conducted previousproperties in the same street. You would be best advised to use a Bedfont conveyancing solicitor. In addition, be sure that the conveyancing firm is on the member panel. It is understood that nearly one in five of Bedfont conveyancing transactions are held up or jeopardised after finding out that a buyer’s conveyancer was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the home move being held up by as much as 21 days. It is claimed that this issue affects in the region of 100,000 home moves annually. Almost all Bedfont conveyancing firms can not represent certain mortgage companies so do check at the outset.
I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Bedfont. I need to find out if they are accepted on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Can you assist?
You should contact the solicitor and ask them if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you can call Aldermore who may be able to help.
Can you point me to a directory of Virgin Money panel solicitors in Bedfont on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings visible on the web. Where you are seeking to appoint a Bedfont property lawyer on the Virgin Money please make the most of our tool.
My wife and I are in the process of looking at apartments in Bedfont and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Bank of Ireland.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
Virgin Money have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a apartment in Bedfont has been accepted, what are the next steps?
The property agent will need to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Telephone Virgin Money or the financial adviser and complete any relevant documentation. Virgin Money will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. Virgin Money will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Bedfont.
I have a semi-detached Victorian property in Bedfont. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Skipton Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. Is it worth asking Skipton Building Society to clarify?
You need to assess 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Bedfont and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Bedfont in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to give a mortgage on this type of house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Bedfont. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Bedfont especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Bedfont.