My partner and I are planning to acquire a property in Crawley and are in fact using a Crawley conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barnsley Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Crawley solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Crawley lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The bank mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to use their panel solicitor as I would much rather use a specialised conveyancing solicitor in Crawley?
You should check but the the likelihood is that allocate you one of their panel conveyancers if you accept the "fee-free" deal. Call the lender to see if they make available a cash alternative. Some banks have previously offered a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case that money can go towards the cost for your conveyancing solicitor near Crawley.
Is it the case that all Crawley solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Santander conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the CLC.
My partner and I are at the point of looking at flats in Crawley and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it sensible to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with Barclays.
You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Barclays, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in March 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Nationwide are being problematic. The Crawley solicitor who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Nationwide are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Nationwide have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nationwide have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nationwide may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Crawley I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Crawley in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension 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 lawyer concerning this matter.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crawley from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crawley can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Crawley home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Crawley state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first. Some Crawley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Crawley - Examples of Queries before buying
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Many Crawley leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the landlord. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this contribution, normally quarterly accross the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. It would be a good idea to find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Crawley leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Crawley. If you like the flatin Crawley however your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you have a very difficult compromise.
My friend mentioned that before selecting a conveyancing solicitors they need approved by your bank. I am new to the process but I have an AIP via Birmingham Midhshires and I already have a family conveyancing solicitor in Crawley on standby. Will Halifax need an approved lawyer to be selected? Does a list of approved conveyancers even exist for my conveyancing in Crawley?
You should choose a solicitor that is on the Halifax panel. Just call your preferred Crawley conveyancing lawyer to check if they are on the Halifax panel. If they are not approved you have a couple of choices available to you here:
- Proceed with your existing Crawley property lawyer but Halifax will undoubtedly instruct a lawyer on their approved list. This will result in additional charges and probable frustration.
- Choose a new lawyer to act in the purchase, ensuring that they are on the Halifax conveyancing panel.
- Convince your solicitor to pull out all the stops to join the Halifax panel of solicitors.