Me and my partner are hoping to buy a 1 bedroom apartment in Hornsey Rise with a mortgage. We have a Hornsey Rise solicitor, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or retain our Hornsey Rise lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This seems very unfair; can we not demand that the mortgage company use our Hornsey Rise property lawyer ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Hornsey Rise conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
As a first time buyer what is the most important piece of guidance you can give me regarding purchase conveyancing in Hornsey Rise?
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Hornsey Rise and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the home moving process. For instance, the vendor, property agent and on occasion a mortgage company. Appointing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Hornsey Rise is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the legal process whose role it is to act in your best interests and to protect you.
On occasion a third party with a vested interest will attempt to persuade you that you should follow their advice. As an example, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your conveyancer is slow. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is contrary to your lawyers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.
Is there a search tool that I can utilise to investigate if the solicitor carrying out my conveyancing in Hornsey Rise is on the lender’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Skipton Building Society thus spending £192.00 in another set of legal charges.
Feel free to take advantage of the search tool on this web page. Pick the lender and type ‘Hornsey Rise’ or your preferred area and you will see numerous conveyancers based in Hornsey Rise or nearest you.
Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Hornsey Rise. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and HSBC Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should review 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Hornsey Rise and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Hornsey Rise is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Hornsey Rise are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Hornsey Rise you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hornsey Rise 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.
My lawyers in Hornsey Rise have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with the lender. Is it case that being on the lender conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?
It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the lender Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the bank directly.