It is is a decade since I bought my home in Cannington. Conveyancing solicitors have just been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be with the mortgage company or they may still be with the solicitor who handled the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Cannington involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
In looking at mumsnet.com for a recommended lawyer in Cannington, most say that I should instruct a CQS assured solicitor. What is CQS?
Cannington Conveyancing Quality Scheme practices have obtained accreditation by the law Society CQS was brought about to promote high standards in the home buying process. CQS helps house movers to identify solicitor firms who provide a quality residential conveyancing. Cannington is one of locations in England and Wales in which CQS are based. The scheme obliges practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-reporting, spot checks and yearly assessments in order to maintain CQS status. It is available to solicitors and not licensed conveyancers and has the support of the Legal Ombudsman.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with UBS. Cannington conveyancing practitioners are chosen. How long does it take for UBS to forward the offer to the conveyancer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have UBS conducted the survey? Have you advised UBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the UBS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Cannington. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £225. A few days later, the solicitor called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Principality 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 Principality 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.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Cannington solicitor having made sure that they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Co-operative will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Co-operative 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Cannington surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
I have recentlyfound out that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Cannington for a purchase of a freehold house 9 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Cannington conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Cannington differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Cannington contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Cannington tend to buy 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 property lawyers 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 Cannington or who has acted in the same development.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Cannington is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Cannington are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Cannington you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Cannington may ascertain 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 residence.