My wife and I are hoping to acquire a property in Camborne and are in fact using a Camborne conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Camborne conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 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 Camborne solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am the registered owner of a freehold property in Camborne but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Camborne and has limited impact for conveyancing in Camborne but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
A colleague suggested that where I am purchasing in Camborne I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Camborne conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Camborne around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Camborne Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Camborne Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Camborne.
I opted to have a survey completed on a property in Camborne before retaining lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor advised that some banks may not grant a mortgage on this type of premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. If you call us we can check via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Camborne. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Camborne especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Camborne.
As co-executor for the will of my uncle I am selling a house in Newport but reside in Camborne. My lawyer (who is 300 miles from mehas requested that I execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Camborne to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Camborne
The estate agent has suggested using their conveyancing practitioner for the conveyancing in Camborne - Surely it’s easier to just instruct them?
This is not necessarily the case and you are at liberty to instruct whichever conveyancing practitioner you decide for your Camborne home move. The conveyancing practitioner recommended by an estate agent may not always be the best solicitor, they may put forward their preferred conveyancing firm who are based far away. In this instance you may not have contact with your conveyancing practitioner and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain progress reports.