My partner and I are planning to buy a house in Leek and are in fact using a Leek conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Coventry Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Leek conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 bank 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Leek solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am assisting my sister sell her property in Leek. Will the conveyancing solicitor commission the energy assessment or should I organise this?
Following the abolition of HIPs, EPC’s became a mandatory component of selling a house. An EPC needs to be commissioned before the property is placed on the market. It is not something that conveyancers ordinarily arrange. If you are using a Leek conveyancing lawyer they may be willing to arrange EPC’s given their contacts with long established Leek providers
I just bought a flat at auction in Leek. Conveyancing is required. What happens now?
Now that you are for all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you will need to hire the services of a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you now have a tight a drop dead date to complete the deal. All auction property should have an associated legal pack. This will likely include evidence of title and search results. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the legal papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You must pass this on to the lawyer working for you as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that your finances are in place to complete on the date specified in the contract.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Lloyds are being pedantic. The Leek solicitor who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Lloyds are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Lloyds have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Lloyds have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Lloyds 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.
I have todaydiscovered that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Leek for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the property is in your name, you can make 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 Leek conveyancing specialists.
Should I be concerned about estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Leek conveyancing practice?
As with many service providers, often recommendations from relatives can be extremely useful or valuable. But there are numerous people with a vested interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies might all suggest lawyers to appoint. On occasion these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there exists a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are free to select your own lawyer. You need to be aware that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of conveyancers you are obliged to use for the mortgage aspect of your transaction.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Leek. I have stumble across a web site which looks to be the ideal solution If it is possible to get all this stuff done via email that would be preferable. Should I be wary? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Myself and my fiance have just had an offer accepted on a flat and had meeting on Monday with the Post Office for the mortgage. They warned us that when it comes to choosing a solicitor that if they are not on their approved panel of conveyancing practitioners then we will have to pay out an extra fee of £200. This is because they would then have to select a conveyancer to act on their behalf as well as the one we select for ourselves and we assume responsibility for their invoice. I have asked the Post Office to furnish me with a list so I can seek quotes only from their approved solicitors but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. Is there a simple way of finding out who is on a lender panel?
You should ask the Post Office what their panel criteria is for a conveyancer.Thereafter ask the solicitor of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on mortgages for the Post Office historically. If the answer to those is yes, then just double check with the Post Office. Another option is to make use of our search facility and we may be able to identify a conveyancing practitioner in Leek on the panel for the Post Office.