My fiance and I are planning to buy a home in Newburn and are in fact using a Newburn conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Scotland have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Newburn lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 Newburn solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I have recentlybecome aware that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Newburn for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest method 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 Newburn conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Newburn differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Newburn come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because house builders in Newburn typically purchase 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 Newburn or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Newburn before appointing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not give a mortgage on such a property.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Newburn. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
What makes a Newburn lease problematic?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Newburn. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
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Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts. Insurance obligations
You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Newburn - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying
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The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have complete disclosure Please inform me if there are any major works in the near future that will likely increase the service charges?
My in 2008. He has got married, divorced and is now remarried. He now intends to dispose of the Newburn property. I believe he will simply be need to provide a copy of his marriage certificates to the property lawyer but he is anxious it will hold up the home sale. Is it worth updating the Land Registry details for the property?
You are not required to bring up to date the register as long as you have the proof required to show how the change of name resulted.
Any purchaser’s conveyancer should examine the land registry details and need evidence by way of proof of the change of name for example marriage documentation.