I am obtaining a offer of a home loan from Santander. I would like to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Bristol. Does the Santander Solicitor panel exclude conveyancers regulated by the CLC?
The Santander approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I require conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (seven years old) in Bristol. The vast majority the properties are already occupied. Do I need carry out the local searches as part of conveyancing in Bristol?
A big part of the Bristol legal transfer of property is the conveyancing searches. There are a large number of companies who offer Bristol conveyancing searches, as well direct from the local authority. These are generally termed personal search organisation due to them carrying out, personal searches. Nevertheless, all Local Authority Search conveyancing products have one thing in common - they must obtain their data from the local authority.
I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Bristol for our house move. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage company Birmingham Midshires won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Banks ordinarily restrict either the type or the volume of conveyancing practices on their member panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must not be a sole practitioner. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, some have decided to limit the number of solicitor practices they use to act for them. Be aware that Birmingham Midshires have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Birmingham Midshires Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there are differing views about the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Bristol only conduct a couple conveyances a year.
My stepmother informed me that in purchasing a property in Bristol there could be a number of restrictions preventing external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Bristol which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Bristol should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
My wife and I have organised the release of further monies on our mortgage from Nottingham as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our property in Bristol. Do we need to appoint a high street Bristol solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Nottingham would not normally appoint a member of their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nottingham list.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Bristol. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I have recentlyfound out that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Bristol for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I establish that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest method 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 Bristol conveyancing specialists.
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Bristol. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Bristol who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?
First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Bristol conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Bristol Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying
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It is important to be aware if window replacement or some other major work is pending that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and will materially increase the the maintenance charges or result in a specific payment. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Are there any major works on the horizon that will add a premium to the maintenance fees?