We are only a couple days away from an exchange on a flat in Chigwell and my parents have sent the 10% deposit to my property lawyer. I am now told that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my lawyer needs to make a notification to my mortgage company. I am advised that, in also acting for the mortgage company he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the mortgage company about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for this now to be an issue?
Your conveyancer is obliged to check with mortgage company to make sure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only report this to your lender if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
My lawyer in Chigwell is not on the Barnsley Building Society Solicitor Panel. Can I still continue with my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Barnsley Building Society panel?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Chigwell lawyers but Barnsley Building Society will need to instruct a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the total conveyancing charges and cause delays.
- Get a new practitioner to act in the purchase, remembering to check they are on the Barnsley Building Society panel
Can you point me to a directory of Co-operative panel conveyancers in Chigwell on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of lending institutions make their panel listings open the public on the web. Where you are in need of a Chigwell conveyancer on the Co-operative please make the most of our tool.
Is it the case that all Chigwell solicitor practices on the Santander conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Santander conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
My fiancee and I are spending time looking at apartments in Chigwell and I am about to put in an offer. Is it wise to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a mortgage with Clydesdale.
It would be advisable to commence your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Clydesdale, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of stalling in Chigwell house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Chigwell.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Chigwell I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Chigwell in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
My father-in-law has suggested that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in Chigwell. Should I find my own solicitor?
There are no two ways about it the ideal way to find a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the conveyancer that you are are thinking of instructing.