I am acquiring a ground floor flat in Low Fell. My Solicitor is not listed on the bank conveyancing list. Is it possible for me to retain my Low Fell conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company list of approved lawyers?
Various options include
- Complete the purchase with your existing Low Fell conveyancing practitioner but your bank will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner from their approved panel. This will result in additional charges together with likely interruption.
- Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the lender conveyancing panel.
- Appeal to your conveyancer to apply to join the bank panel
The sellers of the property we are looking to purchase are using a conveyancing firm in Low Fell who has insisted on a preliminary agreement with a payment of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?
There are a couple of main drawbacks with executing a lock out contract (occasionally termed a no-shop agreement) is that it diverts attention away from moving forward with the conveyancing work, so unless it requires little or no negotiation then it could transpire to be unhelpful. It is not particularly popular by Low Fell conveyancing lawyers as a result. The other main concern is the extent of the remedies available - an aggrieved buyer is very unlikely to be granted an injunctive ruling by a court to prohibit the seller selling to an alternative purchaser, so the only remedy open via the contract will be the reimbursement of abortive charges and, in limited scenarios, the additional payment of penalties.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Low Fell? Is this really necessary?
Low Fell conveyancing solicitors and indeed property practitioners throughout the UK have a duty under money laundering regulations to verify the ID of any client with a view to satisfy themselves that clients are who they say they are.
Conveyancing clients will need to supply two forms of certified ID; proof of ID (usually a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (usually a Utility Bill less than 3 months old).
Proof of source of monies is also required in compliance with the money laundering regulations as solicitors are mandated to ensure that the monies you are utilising to acquire a property (whether it be the deposit for exchange or the full purchase monies where you are a cash purchaser) has originated from legitimate source (such as an inheritance) as opposed to the proceeds of illegitimate activity.
My grandmother passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Low Fell. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nationwide, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you plan to re-mortgage then Nationwide will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Nationwide mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from TSB as we want to conduct alterations to our property in Low Fell. Are we obliged to choose a local Low Fell solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
TSB do not ordinarily instruct a member of their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the TSB list.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Low Fell. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Low Fell solicitor having checked that they are on the Principality conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality 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. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Low Fell postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Low Fell.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Low Fell 10 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?
As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be retained by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, find your house and get up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.