My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Hayes and have instructed a Hayes conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hayes lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 lender 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hayes lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Can I use your services to find a Conveyancing solicitor in Hayes even where I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example where I wish to buy an office in Hayes with a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank?
Our search tool is mainly utilised to locate domestic conveyancing solicitors in Hayes but we have listed at the bottom of this page a selection of Hayes commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to enquire with the company directly to establish if they can also act for Lloyds TSB Bank
I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Hayes for our house move. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage lenders Virgin Money won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?
Banks in the main imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must not be a sole practitioner. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have limited the number of firms they allow to act for them. You should note that Virgin Money have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Virgin Money Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there remains differing opinions concerning the extent of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry reveal that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Hayes only perform one or two conveyances per annum.
I used Wolstenholmes several years ago for my conveyancing in Hayes. Now, I need the documents but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Hayes of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
What does commercial conveyancing in Hayes cover?
Hayes conveyancing for business premises incorporates a wide array of guidance, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. For example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of tenancies.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £300,000 flat in Hayes on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Hayes?
Hayes conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled to levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Hayes. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Hayes conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hayes premises is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 50.57 years.