My husband and I are planning to buy a flat in Blaina and have instructed a Blaina conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barclays Direct have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Blaina conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 Quality 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Blaina lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am need of leasehold conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (seven years old) in Blaina. Almost all the flats are already disposed of. Is it really necessary to order neighbourhood searches for my conveyancing in Blaina?
If you are acquiring a property with the assistance of a mortgage, your lender will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Blaina conveyancing searches are optional. No doubt your conveyancer, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should have the searches done, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Blaina.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Blaina? What am I being asked for?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identity of the potential client they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing retainer. The Terms of Engagement that you need to sign should reaffirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be checked. Should you are unwilling to provide identification documents, your solicitor would not be able to act for you.
Various internet forums that I have frequented warn that are the main cause of hinderance in Blaina conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Blaina.
I have justbeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Blaina for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Blaina conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Blaina differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Blaina come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Blaina usually purchase the real estate, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Blaina or who has acted in the same development.