My fiance and I are planning to acquire a flat in Cleveleys and are in fact using a Cleveleys conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Virgin Money have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Cleveleys solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property requiring 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 solicitor should contact your bank 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Cleveleys solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Do the conveyancing lawyers listed on your site handle attended exchange conveyancing in Cleveleys?
We do have a number of conveyancing specialists who can conduct one day exchanges. You should e-mail us to secure a fee calculation and details as to availability.
We're in Cleveleys, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Yorkshire BS , and our lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Can you point me to a directory of HSBC panel conveyancers in Cleveleys on the Building Society Association’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings open the public over the internet. Where you are seeking to appoint a Cleveleys solicitor on the HSBC please use our facility.
I am buying a property in Cleveleys. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Co-operative have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Co-operative your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions contained in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Co-operative. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook includes minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Co-operative where a lease fails to satisfy these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Cleveleys.
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Clydesdale. Is it usual for Clydesdale to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Cleveleys is approved on their conveyancing panel? Clydesdale have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Clydesdale to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I moved into my apartment on 3 August and the transaction details is not yet registered. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Cleveleys said it would be recorded inside ten days. Are properties in Cleveleys uniquely lengthy to register?
As far as conveyancing in Cleveleys registration is no faster or slower than anywhere else in the country. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can differ subject to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry must send notices to any other persons or bodies. Currently roughly 80% of submission are fully addressed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be longer delays. Historically registration is effected after the new owner is living at the property therefore registration formalities is not usually primary concern but if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor can contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Cleveleys with a mortgage from Chelsea Building Society. The sellers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it will put at risk my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.