Will lawyers request an advanced payment when it comes to conveyancing in Cotham?
If you are buying a property in Cotham your solicitor will request that you put them with monies to cover the search fees. Ordinarily this is requested to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is payable against the total price then this will be required immediately before exchange of contracts. The final balance that is needed should be transferred shortly before completion.
My wife and I are buying a property in Cotham. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we will need to put money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
We had appointed conveyancing lawyers based in Cotham on the Barclays solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me an additional sum for dealing with the Barclays mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Barclays?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your property lawyer may charge a fee for this. The fee is not set by Barclays but by your Cotham lawyer. Numerous firms on the Barclays panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
I am buying a property in Cotham. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Yorkshire BS be concerned?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Yorkshire BS your lawyer must check the formal requirements contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Yorkshire BS. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Yorkshire BS where a lease does not satisfy these conditions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Cotham.
How does conveyancing in Cotham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Cotham contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because developers in Cotham tend to purchase the site, 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 conveyancers 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 Cotham or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Cotham is where the house is located. Can you offer any advice?
Flying freeholds in Cotham are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Cotham you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Cotham may decide 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.
As co-executor for the estate of my grandfather I am selling a house in Newport but I am based in Cotham. My conveyancer (based 200 miles from merequires that I execute a stat dec before completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Cotham who can witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are located in Cotham
My partner and I are purchasing a ground floor flat in Cotham. At the point of instructing our lawyer, they assured us that they were on all major UK bank panels. The financial adviser contacted us just now to say that they are not on the Coventry BS approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Do we simply choose a different conveyancing practitioner that is on their approved list or do we pay for dual representation, with Coventry BS appointing their own approved property lawyer.
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the buyer’s solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a conveyancing practitioner has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict conditions which the solicitor has to fulfill. Some lenders now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your lawyer should contact Coventry BS to discover 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 Coventry BS's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Cotham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.