My partner and I are hoping to acquire a home in Blakeney and have instructed a Blakeney conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. National Westminster Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Blakeney conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional 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 bank 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Blakeney lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
AssumingI were to purchase a freehold housein Blakeney mortgage fee and have no survey and no local authority searches how much would I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Blakeney?
Any savings you would gain will be isolated to the Blakeney conveyancing searches. The conveyancing practitioner still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with your vendors property lawyer, SDLT submission, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not needing to register a charge but it won't be significant.
I purchased a terraced Victorian house in Blakeney. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Coventry Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
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 Blakeney and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Blakeney 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 lenders may refuse to issue a loan on such a house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Halifax. If you contact us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Blakeney. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
How easy is it to swap firm as I have to appoint one who is on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing list. I had appointed a family conveyancing solicitor in Blakeney five minutes from me but she is not approved by Coventry Building Society
It would be our pleasure to help you find a conveyancing solicitor in Blakeney on the Coventry Building Society panel. Please note that the solicitors that we work with do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Blakeney. In making use of search facility on this site, you can contrast costs for conveyancing solicitors in Blakeney and throughout England and Wales.
What is the difference between surveying and conveyancing in Blakeney?
Conveyancing - in Blakeney or anywhere in England and Wales - is the legal term given to transferring legal title of property from one person to another. It therefore includes the investigation of the title. Whether buying or selling, you should be aware of anything affecting the property such as proposals by government departments, illegal buildings, or outstanding rates. The conveyancer should conduct the appropriate searches and inquiries on the property. Surveying relates to the structure of a property itself. A surveyor will look at a house, flat and any outbuildings you’re buying and will help you find out about the condition of the building and, if there are problems, give you leverage for negotiating the buying price down or asking the seller to fix the problems prior to you complete your move.