My husband and I are planning to purchase a property in Caerwent and have instructed a Caerwent conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Accord Mortgages Ltd have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Caerwent conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers 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 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Caerwent lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Last September we completed a house move in Caerwent. We have since encountered a number of problems with the house which we believe were omitted in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? Can you clarify the type of searches that should have been conducted as part of conveyancing in Caerwent?
The question is vague as to the nature of the problems and if they are unique to conveyancing in Caerwent. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated during the legal transfer of property are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor answers a form called a SPIF. answers provided is inaccurate, then you may have a claim against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Caerwent.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Caerwent? What am I being asked for?
To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Caerwent conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing matters. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill showing your correct address.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancing solicitors are obliged by law to validate not only the identity of conveyancing clients but also the source of the money that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this will result in your solicitor cancelling their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your conveyancers are duty bound to make a disclosure to the relevant authorities should they consider that any amounts received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.
I'm at the point of viewing houses in Caerwent and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a mortgage with Kent Reliance.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the estate agent. As you are seeking a mortgage with Kent Reliance, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
It is not clear whether my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Caerwent bank branch on various occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Caerwent conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
The solicitor has to follow the CML Handbook section two requirements for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Caerwent. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £150. Shortly after, the solicitor contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the UBS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the UBS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
What can a local search tell me regarding the house I am purchasing in Caerwent?
Caerwent conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for example Onsearch The local search is essential in every Caerwent conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search should provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject areas.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Caerwent prior to instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Caerwent. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.