Me and my wife are buying a ground floor flat in Bedford. My property lawyer is not listed on the mortgage company conveyancing list. Can I still use my Bedford conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the lender panel?
One must instruct a conveyancer to deal with the legal work required when you need a mortgage to purchase your home. The lawyer will carry out all the necessary due diligence on the property, make sure that you’re registered as proprietor and ensure that all the necessary mortgage documentation is in place. You can appoint a Bedford solicitor of your choice. However, where the solicitor appointed is not a member of the mortgage company solicitor panel supplemental fees will be levied as separate legal representation will be need by the mortgage company. Bank panel applications may be submitted, so where your conveyancer has not historically sought membership they can do so.
At what point will exchange of contracts take place for sale conveyancing in Bedford and am I required to attend the conveyancers office?
Where you are near to our conveyancing solicitors in Bedford you are welcome to attend to sign the paperwork. That being said, the law practices we work with offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you electronically. The executing of the contract is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract simply enables the solicitor to address the formalities when the time is right, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Bedford)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Santander Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Bedford?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
We were going to get a OIP from Aldermore this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Aldermore recommend any Bedford solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Bedford solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Aldermore through the process.
About to purchase house in Bedford. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Bedford property lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by HSBC. Is it usual for HSBC to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Bedford is approved on their conveyancing panel? HSBC have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for HSBC to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Bedford?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Bedford. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
What can I do to find out who is the owner of a house in Bedford?
Provided the premises is registered with HM Land Registry, and you have the information of the address of the premises, you should be able to view results from the HMLR of the recorded owner for a fee.