My wife and I are looking to acquire a property in Crofton Park and have instructed a Crofton Park conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Crofton Park lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Crofton Park solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
How does conveyancing in Crofton Park differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Crofton Park approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because developers in Crofton Park usually buy the land, 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Crofton Park or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Crofton Park in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor has said that some lenders may not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Crofton Park. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Crofton Park to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
What tools are available to search for a Crofton Park law firm on the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am willing to travel upto 20miles to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of Crofton Park conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Crofton Park conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to verify whether they are on the National Westminster Bank member panel
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Crofton Park. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Crofton Park conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Crofton Park property is Flat b 14 Kemble Road in May 2014. The Tribunal assessed the value of the premium payable for the lease extension to be £9,761 This case was in relation to 1 flat.
I have been Googling for Crofton Park conveyancing quotes online. Can I be assured that all the Crofton Park law firms that are listed on your directory are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices listed on our site have assured us via an online form that they are on the lender panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the mortgage company panel. To date we have not been informed by either a bank or a member of the public that the data about a specific Crofton Park conveyancing solicitor being on the lender conveyancing panel is incorrect.