I am one month into the sale of my flat in Byfleet and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are swapping solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Byfleet ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
My relative recommended that if I am buying in Byfleet I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Byfleet conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Byfleet around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Byfleet.
I used Action Conveyancing a few years ago for my conveyancing in Byfleet. I now require my papers however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Byfleet of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Byfleet is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in Byfleet are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Byfleet you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Byfleet may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
We are 17 days into a residential purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the estate agent to execute conveyancing in Byfleet. I am not happy. Can you help me find new solicitors?
They would need to be really poor to suggest diss instructing them. Has the loan offer been generated? If so you will need to inform them of the new contact details and have the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer should be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid supplemental expenses and delays. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. Our find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Byfleet
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Byfleet with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Byfleet can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ lawyers. The majority of freeholders or Management Companies in Byfleet levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Byfleet. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
Byfleet Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
-
Be sure to investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Byfleet leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Byfleet. If you love the propertyin Byfleet yet your cat can’t make the move with you then you have a very hard choice. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability?