My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Calne and are in fact using a Calne conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Santander have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Calne lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Calne solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
As someone clueless as to conveyancing in Calne what’s your top tip you can impart concerning the legal transfer of property in Calne
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Calne and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the seller, estate agent and sometimes a lender. Appointing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Calne is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the process whose interest is to act in your best interests and to keep you safe.
We are witnessing a worrying creep in the "blame" culture- someone has to be at fault for the process being so protracted. We recommend that you your first instinct should be to trust your lawyer above the other players when it comes to the legal assignment of property.
We're in Calne, First timers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Co-operative , and our solicitor is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I am intent on selling our house in Calne and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using an internet conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Calne. Having lived in Calne for many years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Calne?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Calne. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am using a search engine for the phrase cheap conveyancing in Calne it reveals numerous conveyancerslocally. How do I determine which is the right conveyancer for purchase transaction?
The best way of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a personal recommendation, so seek the opinion of friends and relatives who have bought a property in Calne or a respected estate agent or financial adviser. Fees for conveyancing in Calne differ, so it's sensible to obtain at least three estimates from varying types of conveyancers. Dont forget to clarify that the fees are fixed.