I am hoping to receive a offer of a home loan from Lloyds. I would like to employ the services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Iver. Does the Lloyds Solicitor panel exclude Licensed Conveyancers?
The Lloyds conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Iver. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £175. A couple of days later, the property lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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 am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in August 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Yorkshire BS are being pedantic. The Iver solicitor who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Yorkshire BS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Yorkshire BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Yorkshire BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Yorkshire BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Iver solicitor - who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Barclays will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Barclays 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 Iver 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.
Various internet forums that I have come across warn that are a common reason for stalling in Iver conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Iver.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Iver I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Iver for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
Do I need to be suspicious by estate agents that I am dealing with are recommending an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Iver conveyancing practice?
As with many professional services, often recommendations from connections can be very helpful. Nevertheless there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all suggest lawyers to instruct. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there might be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to select your preferred lawyer. Don't forget that the majority of banks have an approved list of conveyancers you must use for the mortgage related work in your transaction.
Is it best to appoint a Iver conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can deal with the legal formalities but they are based 400miles away.
The primary upside of using a local Iver conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign documents, hand in your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local Iver know how is a bonus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and they were happy that must surpass using an unknown Iver conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.