My wife and I are looking to acquire a home in Exeter and are in fact using a Exeter conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Barnsley Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Exeter conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers 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 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Exeter solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My husband and I are purchasing a newly constructed duplex in Exeter and my lawyer is informing me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the builder. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and my preference is not to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a searchable register to list solicitors on the Earl Shilton BS conveyancing panel for example in Exeter?
We are not aware of any plans on the part of the BSA to promote such a tool.
I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Exeter. I now require my papers however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Exeter of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in Exeter differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Exeter approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because house builders in Exeter typically purchase 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 property lawyers 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 Exeter or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Exeter I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Exeter for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.