My partner and I are planning to purchase a house in Canonbury and have instructed a Canonbury conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Coventry Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Canonbury solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual 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 solicitor 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Canonbury lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Due to move into my new home in Canonbury next Thursday. My property lawyer now wants me to supply her with proof of content and building insurance for the property as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the bank. What risks does the bank expect the insurance to cover?
Any lawyer on acting for mortgage companies would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 requirements. These requirements are not limited to conveyancing in Canonbury.
My father pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Canonbury there may be a number of restrictions preventing external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Canonbury which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Canonbury should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Does a directory service exist listing Nottingham panel solicitors in Canonbury on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings viewable online. If you are in need of a Canonbury conveyancing practitioner on the Nottingham please use our facility.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Canonbury. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A couple of days later, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the RBS 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 RBS 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.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Canonbury. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Canonbury
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Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply a car parking plan. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?
I decided to have a survey done on a house in Canonbury before retaining lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Canonbury. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Canonbury to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
How does one as executor remove a departed person's details from the title deeds for a house in Canonbury?
Where a Canonbury property is co-owned and one of the owners passes away, their name will not immediately be removed from the Land Registry title. It is not necessary to remove their name as when it comes to a sale you would simply be required to evidence why the co proprietor is not included in the transfer, normally this is in the form of a grant of probate.
With a view to making things simpler in the future you can arrange to have the deceased person removed from the title register by applying to the land registry with proof of the death. There is no land registry fee payable.