My wife and I are looking to acquire a house in Kidwelly and have appointed a Kidwelly conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Alliance & Leicester have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Kidwelly lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property needing 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Kidwelly solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
The sellers of the house we are hoping to buy have instructed a conveyancing solicitor in Kidwelly who has suggested a preliminary contract with a non-refundable deposit of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?
This form of agreement is not the norm in Kidwelly, conveyancers are not keen on them as they detract from the primary objective, namely conveyancing and if you end up having your deposit forfeited then the solicitor at best left with an upset client and at worst a litigious one. In addition, there is no assurance that just because the proprietor has signed an exclusivity contract they will complete the sale with you. They may breach the contract if they are offered a big enough financial inducement to do so because an aggrieved purchaser with the benefit of a exclusivitycontract will still be duty bound to establish consequential losses from the breach and this may not amount to the extra amount that the owner may obtain by breaking the agreement, however morally shameful that may be.
I am expecting a OIP from HSBC this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do HSBC recommend any Kidwelly solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Kidwelly solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the HSBC conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and HSBC through the process.
I have a mortgage with UBS for my property in Kidwelly. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. Should I wish 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 UBS?
UBS must be informed of your intention in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that UBS 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 UBS directly. You need not do this via a UBS conveyancing panel lawyer.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Nottingham are being difficult. The Kidwelly solicitor who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Nottingham are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nottingham have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nottingham have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nottingham 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.
Should commercial conveyancing searches disclose proposed roadworks that could impact a commercial land in Kidwelly?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Kidwelly will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Kidwelly. The search result provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Kidwelly.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Kidwelly it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately may result in delays to Kidwelly commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Kidwelly.
Taking into account that I am about to spend 450k on a house in Kidwelly I would like to have a conversation with the solicitor about myhome move prior to appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
We could not agree more - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer due to be carrying out your conveyancing in Kidwelly.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a matter number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Kidwelly should be the figure that you end up paying.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing practitioner in Kidwelly for my house move. Is there any facility to review a solicitor's record with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public can search for documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded telephone calls for training requirements.