Our conveyancer has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are buying in Hartlepool. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancing practitioner says that he must ensure that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Are the Hartlepool conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Skipton conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Skipton?
Hartlepool conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Skipton conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Skipton directly.
My property lawyer in Hartlepool has never been on on the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor even though they are not on the Bank of Scotland panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Hartlepool solicitors but Bank of Scotland will need to retain a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall conveyancing fees as well as result in delays.
- Find a new practitioner to to deal with the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Bank of Scotland approved.
- Try to convince your Bank of Scotland based solicitor to try to join the Bank of Scotland panel
Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may affect a commercial estate in Hartlepool?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Hartlepool will carry out a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers spend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Hartlepool. The report provides definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Hartlepool.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Hartlepool it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately may cause delays to Hartlepool commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not ordered for domestic conveyancing in Hartlepool.
How does conveyancing in Hartlepool differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Hartlepool approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because new home sellers in Hartlepool typically buy 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 Hartlepool or who has acted in the same development.
I was pointed in your direction by three or four local property agents in Hartlepool to get a quote from a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to recommend your site over and above a competitor’s?
We refuse to give any referral fee for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.