My wife and I are hoping to buy a flat in Kent and are in fact using a Kent conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Birmingham Midshires have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Kent lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Accreditation 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Kent solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
The Kent conveyancing firm handling our Kent conveyancing has uncovered a difference between the assumptions in the home valuation survey and what is in the title deeds. My solicitor says that he is obliged to check that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s course or action correct?
Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements 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 both parties.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my house in Kent. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been appointed on the sale but I am unable to locate the title documents. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Kent relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Kent. I need to find out whether they are on the Britannia conveyancing panel. Could you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
The first thing to do is call your lawyer and enquire if they are on the lender panel. Otherwise you can call Britannia who may be able to confirm.
I used Wolstenholmes several years ago for my conveyancing in Kent. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down 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 Kent of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Kent. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Kent
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Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified.