Our Hawkhurst conveyancer has spotted a difference when comparing the information in the valuation report and what is revealed within the title deeds. My lawyer says that he is duty bound to check that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s approach legitimate?
Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
My partner and I are spending time viewing apartments in Hawkhurst and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with Bank of Ireland.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the selling agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Hawkhurst. My mortgage broker suggested a property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £200. Soon after, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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 have instructed a Hawkhurst lawyer having made sure that they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Hawkhurst surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
A relative suggested that where I am purchasing in Hawkhurst I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Hawkhurst conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Hawkhurst around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local 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 concerning Hawkhurst.
It has been 3 months following my purchase conveyancing in Hawkhurst concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Hawkhurst differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Hawkhurst come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because house builders in Hawkhurst typically acquire the real estate, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Hawkhurst or who has acted in the same development.
How difficult is it to switch conveyancer as I need to find one who is on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel. I was using a family conveyancing solicitor in Hawkhurst round the corner but the firm is not accepted by Godiva Mortgages Ltd
It would be our pleasure to help you select a conveyancing solicitor in Hawkhurst on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we list do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are regulated by the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Hawkhurst. Using the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this website, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Hawkhurst.