My wife and I are looking to buy a property in Droitwich and have instructed a Droitwich conveyancing firm. 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. Barnsley Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Droitwich conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual 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 property lawyer should contact your bank 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 lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Droitwich solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am in the process of refinancing my house in Droitwich, does my lawyer need to be on the Clydesdale Conveyancing panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel, but Clydesdale would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.
The mortgage over my property is with TSB for my property in Droitwich. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform TSB?
TSB must be informed of your intention in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of TSB’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact TSB directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a TSB conveyancing panel solicitor.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Droitwich. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
Bank of Ireland have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a flat in Droitwich has been accepted, what are the next steps?
Your estate agent will need to be advised as to your lawyer's details (be sure the property lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Telephone Bank of Ireland or your broker and finish off any outstanding forms. Bank of Ireland will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or owners to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Bank of Ireland will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Droitwich.
Will commercial conveyancing searches disclose planned roadworks that could impact a commercial site in Droitwich?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Droitwich will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers invest in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Droitwich. The search result provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Droitwich.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Droitwich it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately may cause delays to Droitwich commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Droitwich.
How does conveyancing in Droitwich differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Droitwich contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because house builders in Droitwich typically acquire 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Droitwich or who has acted in the same development.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Droitwich I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Droitwich for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.