I have just been advised by my mortgage adviser that my Cottesmore solicitor is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to check?
The first thing you need to do is to call your Cottesmore conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Cottesmore conveyancing firm that is on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.
My property lawyer in Cottesmore is not listed on the Alliance & Leicester Approved Panel. Can I still continue with my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Alliance & Leicester panel?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Cottesmore lawyers but Alliance & Leicester will need to retain a solicitor on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the overall legal fees as well as cause frustration.
- Find an alternative practitioner to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are Persuade your solicitor to use their best endeavours to join the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel
Is it the case that all Cottesmore conveyancing solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be regulated by the CLC.
I'm in the process of viewing houses in Cottesmore and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Kent Reliance.
It would be wise to instigate your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are seeking a mortgage with Kent Reliance, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
RBS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a property in Cottesmore has been agreed to, what are the next steps?
The estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Call up RBS or the broker and finalise any relevant documentation. RBS will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week to receive the mortgage offer. RBS will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Cottesmore.
Should my lawyer be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Cottesmore.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Cottesmore. There are those who purchase a house in Cottesmore, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be undertaken by the purchaser or by their solicitors which should figure out the risks in Cottesmore. The standard property information forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the seller to find out whether the premises has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could bring a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect reply. The buyer’s lawyers should also order an environmental report. This should disclose whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be carried out.
I'm buying my first flat in Cottesmore with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not disclose to my conveyancer about this deal as it could jeopardize my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
New build sellers have recommended to me a property lawyer and I've sought a quote from them. It's nearly £250 cheaper than my own Cottesmore conveyancer. What's the catch?
Housebuilders often have panels of conveyancers who expedite matters and who know the seller’s contract and solicitor. Plenty of developers offer an inducement to select their approved conveyancing practitioner for this reason, any increased cost can be avoided and a builder won't suggest a conveyancing factory and run the risk of having the transaction stall when they want exchange within a tight time frame. The argument for not agreeing to use the recommended lawyer is that they may be reluctant to 'push' your interests for fear of upsetting the housebuilder. If you worry that this may be the case you should keep with your high street Cottesmore conveyancer.