My husband and I are acquiring property in East Croydon. My Conveyancer is not on the bank solicitor panel. Can I still appoint my East Croydon conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company list of approved lawyers?
You have numerous alternatives available to you here
- Proceed with your preferred East Croydon property lawyer but your bank will need to retain a lawyer on their approved panel. This will result in additional cost and potential frustration.
- Appoint a new solicitor to act in the purchase, ensuring that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Convince your property lawyer to apply to join the bank panel
It is is a decade since I acquired my home in East Croydon. Conveyancing lawyers have now been appointed on the sale but I can't find the title deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be with your lender or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in East Croydon involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
My lawyer has informed me that flying freehold insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in East Croydon?
The right level of flying freehold indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between National Westminster Bank and Chelsea Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
Is it the case that all East Croydon CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel?
It is true that some banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their panels.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Santander. I assume I don't need a East Croydon conveyancer on the Santander panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Santander mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Santander mortgage from the register. Santander, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Santander has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Santander has instructed the Land Registry to do so
What can a local search tell me regarding the house we're buying in East Croydon?
East Croydon conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for example PSG The local search is essential in every East Croydon conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search will supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic areas.
How does conveyancing in East Croydon differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in East Croydon come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because developers in East Croydon tend to acquire the real estate, 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in East Croydon or who has acted in the same development.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in East Croydon. I happened to chance upon a web site which seems to have the ideal offering If it is possible to get all this stuff completed via web that would be ideal. Do I need to be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?