Me and my partner are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Blaenavon with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Blaenavon lawyer, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have no choice but to select one of the mortgage company panel firms or keep our Blaenavon conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to insist that the mortgage company use our Blaenavon conveyancing practitioner ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Blaenavon conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am acquiring a house without a mortgage in Blaenavon. I have lived for the last twelve years in Blaenavon. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I have knowledge of the area and road very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?
In the absence of a home loan, then almost all of the Blaenavon conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should have searches completed, but she is duty bound to do this. Do consider; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it could be of relevance to your future buyer what the searches determine. On occasion houses with day to day issues can still throw up negative search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Blaenavon should provide you some helpful guidance concerning this.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Blaenavon last December but my buyer keeps SMS messaging every few hours to moan that his conveyancer is waiting to hear from myconveyancer. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
Post completion of your sale your lawyer is obliged to forward the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. If applicable, your solicitor must also evidence that the mortgage has been repaid to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion procedures just for conveyancing in Blaenavon.
My partner and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Blaenavon and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Blaenavon. Having lived in Blaenavon for 5 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
How does conveyancing in Blaenavon differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Blaenavon approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because new home sellers in Blaenavon tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Blaenavon or who has acted in the same development.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Blaenavon ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders may not give a mortgage on a flying freehold property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Blaenavon. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Blaenavon especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Blaenavon.