I am getting a offer of a home loan from Santander. I intend to employ the services of a Licensed Conveyancer in March. Does the Santander Conveyancing panel allow for conveyancers regulated by the CLC?
The Santander conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the CML or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
As someone unfamiliar with the March conveyancing process what is your top tip you can give me concerning the legal transfer of property in March
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in March or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of room for conflict between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the seller, selling agent and sometimes the bank. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in March should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the legal process whose responsibility is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.
We are witnessing a worrying emergence of a "blame" culture- someone must be blamed for the process taking so long. We recommend that you your first instinct should be to trust your conveyancer above the other players when it comes to the legal assignment of property.
When reading consumer advice sites for a conveyancing solicitor in March, most post that I should look for a CQS assured solicitor. Can you explain what CQS is?
The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised kitemark for legal experts in home ownership transfers, trusted by some of the UK's biggest banks. Four years ago the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Building Societies Association (BSA). The scheme does not cover licenced conveyancers. March is one of the numerous areas of the UK where there are CQS lawyers.
A colleague informed me that in purchasing a property in March there could be various restrictions prohibiting external alterations to the property. Is this right?
There are anumerous of properties in March which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external changes. Part of the conveyancing in March should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with TSB. I assume I don't need a March conveyancing practitioner on the TSB panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your TSB mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the TSB mortgage from the register. TSB, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where TSB has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- TSB has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I currently have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in March. 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 Nottingham?
Your original mortgage agreement with Nottingham will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Nottingham directly. You need not do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in March and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a national conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in March. Having lived in March for 5 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
How does conveyancing in March differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in March contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because house builders in March tend to buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in March or who has acted in the same development.