My wife and I are looking to purchase a home in Merton and are in fact using a Merton conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Merton lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Merton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Me and my partner are buying a house in Merton. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to put our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Merton
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Merton and Solicitor partnerships in Merton offering conveyancing We would stress that the two are regulated professionals specialising in the legal work in transferring property. The two can handle associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
My partner and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Nottingham as we wish to carry out alterations to our property in Merton. Are we obliged to appoint a local Merton solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Nottingham do not ordinarily instruct firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.
I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of hinderance in Merton conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Merton.
I have justdiscovered that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Merton for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 10 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to check if the property is in your name, 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 Merton conveyancing specialists.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Merton is where the house is located. Can you offer any advice?
Flying freeholds in Merton are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Merton you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Merton may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
Is it best to choose a Merton conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can handle the legal formalities but his firm is located 400kilometers away.
The benefit of a local Merton conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, deliver your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local Merton know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and the majority were happy that must outweigh using an unfamiliar Merton conveyancing solicitor just because they are Merton based.