My husband and I are looking to buy a property in Caerleon and are in fact using a Caerleon conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barnsley Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Caerleon solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional 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 property lawyer 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Caerleon lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are getting the release of further monies on our mortgage from Leeds Building Society as we wish to carry out renovations to our house in Caerleon. Do we need to select a local Caerleon solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Leeds Building Society would not normally require a member of their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Leeds Building Society are being difficult. The Caerleon solicitor who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Leeds Building Society are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Leeds Building Society have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Leeds Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Leeds Building Society may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Caerleon solicitor - who is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Kent Reliance will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Kent Reliance will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Caerleon postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Caerleon.
A relative advised me that if I am purchasing in Caerleon I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Caerleon conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Caerleon around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Caerleon Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Caerleon.
Me and my brother own a terraced Georgian house in Caerleon. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Alliance & Leicester . I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. Is it worth asking Alliance & Leicester to clarify?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Caerleon and other areas of 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 mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
How does conveyancing in Caerleon differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Caerleon contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Caerleon 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 used to new build conveyancing in Caerleon or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Caerleon I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Caerleon suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan that many years will be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.