My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a home in Easton and are in fact using a Easton conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Alliance & Leicester have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Easton lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance 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 property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Easton lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am buying a property without a mortgage in Easton. I have resided for the last dozen years in Easton. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. Given that I know the road and vicinity very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a home loan, then the vast majority of the Easton conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will ’encourage you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he is duty bound to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are intend to dispose of the house in the future, it will likely be be of interest to your future purchaser what the searches disclose. On occasion houses with functional issues can still show up unexpected search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Easton should be able to give you some helpful advice here.
When it comes to lenders such as Aldermore, do Easton solicitors have to pay a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
Can I be sure that the Easton conveyancing solicitor on the Skipton panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Easton getting recommendations is a sensible 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 lawyer carrying out your transaction.
I am buying a property in Easton. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Principality have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Principality your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Principality. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook contains minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Principality where a lease does not comply with these provisions. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Easton.
My relative suggested that if I am purchasing in Easton I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Easton conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Easton around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Easton Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Easton.
As co-executor for the estate of my uncle I am selling a house in Swansea but reside in Easton. My solicitor (approximately 235 kilometers awayneeds me to execute a stat dec before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Easton to witness and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are located in Easton
How and when do I pay stamp duty chargeable for my purchase in Easton?
The majority of property lawyers will fill out a Land Transaction Return Form for you as part of your Easton purchase transaction for signature. On completion your solicitor will submit the Land Transaction Return Form to the Tax Authorities and - assuming they have the money - settle any Stamp Duty payable on your behalf.