My wife and I are looking to purchase a house in Godstone and are in fact using a Godstone conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Aldermore have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Godstone conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Godstone lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We're in Godstone, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Yorkshire BS , and our solicitor is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancing practitioner should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Will my conveyancer be making enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Godstone.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers conducting conveyancing in Godstone. There are those who buy a house in Godstone, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Godstone. The standard property information forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard question of the seller to determine whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the seller, then a buyer could issue a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate reply. The buyer’s lawyers should also commission an environmental report. This will indicate if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be carried out.
My wife and I have a semi-detached Edwardian property in Godstone. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Aldermore. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking Aldermore to clarify?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Godstone and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Godstone is the location of the property. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Godstone are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Godstone you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Godstone 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.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandfather I am disposing of a property in Neath but live in Godstone. My solicitor (based 235 miles from meneeds me to execute a statutory declaration ahead of the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Godstone to attest and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Godstone based