I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Chessington and the EA has just called to say that the buyers are appointing a new law firm. The excuse is that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading mortgage company only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Chessington ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
Our son is in the process of securing a newly built flat in Chessington with a mortgage from Principality. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Principality conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Principality conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
It is is a decade since I bought my property in Chessington. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to find my title deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be retained by your lender or they could still be with the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Chessington involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
My colleague recommended that where I am buying in Chessington I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Chessington conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Chessington around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Chessington Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Chessington Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Chessington.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Chessington is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Chessington are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Chessington you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Chessington may determine 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 premises.
Given that I am about to spend over three hundred thousand on 3 bedroom house in Chessington I wish to have a conversation with the lawyer concerning thetransaction prior to appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer who will be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Chessington.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a case number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Chessington should be the figure that you end up paying.