My fiance and I are planning to purchase a house in Harrow and have appointed a Harrow 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. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Harrow conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance 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 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 Harrow lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Would the conveyancing lawyers identified via your search tool conduct conveyancing in Harrow by way of an attended exchange?
There are a few conveyancing specialists who can conduct personalised exchanges. You should contact us to receive a fee calculation and details as to availability.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a searchable register to list firms on the Loughborough BS conveyancing panel for instance in Harrow?
Lexsure has not been advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a tool.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Harrow
Two types of professional can carry out conveyancing in Harrow namely CLC regulated conveyancers or solicitors. The two can administer conveyancing services that you need to complete the sale or acquisition of property. They are both obliged to execute Harrow conveyancing on similar standards and guidelines so you may be safe in the knowledge that your conveyancing will be properly carried out and that the requirements and procedures should be appropriately followed.
I am assisting my niece sell her property in Harrow. Will the conveyancer commission an energy performance certificate or it is for me to see to?
After the abolition of HIPs, energy performance certificates was retained a compulsory component of selling a property. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned in advance of the property being advertised. It is not something that conveyancers ordinarily arrange. If you are using a Harrow conveyancing lawyer they might be able to arrange energy assessments given their relationships with reputable local providers
I have finally had an offer on a maisonette in Harrow agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have put an offer on somewhere, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have chosen a local conveyancing solicitor in Harrow. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with UBS going?
It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Harrow conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must check that your lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many home buyers will apply for the mortgage with UBS and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their conveyancer to proceed with the conveyancing in Harrow.
A relative advised me that where I am buying in Harrow I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Harrow conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Harrow around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Harrow Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Harrow.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Harrow?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Harrow. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’