My wife and I are looking to buy a home in Crofton Park and are in fact using a Crofton Park conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Crofton Park solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 lender 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Crofton Park lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Crofton Park costs more?
The conveyancing fees on a leasehold property in Crofton Park is inevitably greater than on a freehold property. This is because there is an amount of supplemental investigations required in communicating with the landlord and managing agents to obtain evidence concerning whether the rent and service fee have been discharged and whether there are any major works due in the near future on repairs or maintenance of the building.
Is there a list of Nationwide panel solicitors in Crofton Park on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings viewable online. If you are looking for a Crofton Park lawyer on the Nationwide please use our facility.
Can I be sure that the Crofton Park conveyancing solicitor on the HSBC panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Crofton Park obtaining recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always suggest that you speak with the solicitor handling your transaction.
I have instructed a Crofton Park solicitor having made sure that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Kent Reliance will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Kent Reliance will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Crofton Park surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
4 months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Crofton Park took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Crofton Park before retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to give a mortgage on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can look into this further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Crofton Park. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
My step-father has encouraged me to appoint his conveyancing solicitors in Crofton Park. Do I take his advice?
There are no two ways about it the ideal way to choose a conveyancing practitioner is to have recommendations from friends or family who have experience in using the conveyancer you're considering.