My husband and I are looking to acquire a house in Foots Cray and have appointed a Foots Cray conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Skipton Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Foots Cray lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Foots Cray lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I sincerely hope you can assist me. My Foots Cray lawyer is informing me me that he has toconduct Foots Cray conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Lloydsconveyancing panel. Is this really necessary?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the CML Handbook requirements . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Foots Cray conveyancing searches.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Foots Cray costs more?
In summary, leasehold conveyancing in Foots Cray and elsewhere usually warrants more due diligence compared to freehold transactions. This includes reviewing the lease, corresponding with the landlord concerning serving applicable notices, securing up-to-date service charge and management information, procuring the landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different leaseholders have owned the lease since it was first entered into.
Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Foots Cray. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we have to deposit money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Foots Cray. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Skipton panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Principality are being a right pain. The Foots Cray solicitor who is on the Principality conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Principality are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Principality have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Principality have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Principality may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
How does conveyancing in Foots Cray differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Foots Cray come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because house builders in Foots Cray tend to 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 Foots Cray or who has acted in the same development.
Is it best to appoint a Foots Cray conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can handle the conveyancing however they are based approximately 350miles away.
The benefit of a high street Foots Cray conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to execute paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Foots Cray know how is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have instructed your friend and they were content that should surpass using an unfamiliar Foots Cray conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.