I require conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (five years built) in Keynsham. Almost all the appartments have already been sold. Do I need carry out the local searches for my conveyancing in Keynsham?
If you are purchasing a property with the assistance of a mortgage, your bank will need some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Keynsham conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer, will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should have the searches done, but he or she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Keynsham.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Santander as we wish to conduct improvements to our house in Keynsham. Are we obliged to appoint a bricks and mortar Keynsham solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Santander would not normally require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Santander panel.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Keynsham. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Co-operative have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Co-operative your lawyer must check the conveyancing requirements contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Co-operative. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook contains minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Co-operative where a lease fails to comply with these specifications. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Keynsham.
The mortgage over my property is with Coventry BS for my property in Keynsham. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Coventry BS?
You must advise Coventry BS in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Coventry BS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Coventry BS directly. You need not do this via a Coventry BS conveyancing panel lawyer.
I have justbeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Keynsham for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I establish that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Keynsham conveyancing specialists.
I am purchasing my first flat in Keynsham benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not disclose to my conveyancer about the extras as it will adversely affect my mortgage with Skipton Building Society. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Taking into account that I will soon part with hundreds of thousands of pounds on a property in Keynsham I wish to have a conversation with the conveyancer regarding theconveyancing prior to instructing the firm. Can this be arranged?
We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor who will be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Keynsham.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important individual, not a file reference. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for your conveyancing in Keynsham should be the figure that you end up paying.
My wife and I have instructed a Keynsham conveyancing solicitor for our house purchase (FTB’s) and have spotted in the engagement letter that they are not governed by the FCA. Need I be concerned or is that usually the case with conveyancing practitioner?
We can't see why they should be. Most solicitor don't lend money. You should check that they are regulated by the SRA, who set stringent stipulations regulating amounts deposited by them.