I have just been advised by my broker that my Godmanchester property lawyer is not on the bank Conveyancing panel. How can I be certain whether this is indeed the case?
The sensible course of action for you to take is to contact your Godmanchester lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Godmanchester conveyancing practice that is on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.
IfI was to acquire a simple residential homein Godmanchester for cash and have no survey and no local authority searches how much would I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Godmanchester?
Any savings you would achieve would be limited to the disbursement for searches. Your solicitor is obliged to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, liaising with your vendors lawyer, stamp duty return, register the property etc. A slight saving might be made by not needing to register a mortgage however it won't be meaningful.
I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Godmanchester for our house move. Our financial adviser has since notified us that our mortgage lenders Lloyds TSB Bank won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?
Banks on the whole imposes restrictions either the category or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their member panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the amount of firms they use to represent them. You should note that Lloyds TSB Bank have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Lloyds TSB Bank Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of solicitor panels since 2008 even though there remains differing views regarding the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Godmanchester only conduct very few conveyances a year.
How does conveyancing in Godmanchester differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Godmanchester approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Godmanchester typically acquire the land, 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 conveyancers 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 Godmanchester or who has acted in the same development.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Godmanchester is the location of the property. Can you offer any advice?
Flying freeholds in Godmanchester are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Godmanchester you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Godmanchester may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Godmanchester to locate a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your site rather than another?
We don’t give any referral fee for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.