I am progressing with the sale of my home in Newbury Park and the EA has just text me to say that the buyers are switching conveyancer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Newbury Park ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I require conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (6 years old) in Newbury Park. Almost all the properties have already been sold. Is it really necessary to order local searches as part of conveyancing in Newbury Park?
You are putting yourself at risk in not carrying out Newbury Park conveyancing searches. Without searches you have no clarity over flooding, environmental etc which may mean you walk away due to potential problems down the line. If you are buying without a mortgage there is no legal requirement to have them, but we would strongly advise in no uncertain terms that you have them. Where speed and driving down costs are top of your concerns you should discuss with your lawyer about the options such as lack of search insurance available to you
This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as a 1st time purchaser of a garden flat in Newbury Park. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Newbury Park?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Newbury Park. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the purchase money to the owner’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
We had selected solicitors based in Newbury Park on the UBS solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a further sum for the legal aspects of the UBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by UBS?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by UBS but by your Newbury Park solicitor. Numerous firms on the UBS panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
My fiancee and I are at the point of looking at apartments in Newbury Park and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a conveyancing practitioner in place at this stage? I am planning to take a mortgage with Virgin Money.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Newbury Park?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Newbury Park. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial property in Newbury Park and how can your lawyers assist?
The 1954 Act gives security of tenure to business lessees, giving them the legal entitlement to apply to court for a new lease and remain in occupation at the end of the lease term. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing solicitors who use the act to your advantage and assist with commercial conveyancing in Newbury Park
A conveyancing company handled my conveyancing in Newbury Park 8 years past having archived my registration certificates but has now closed – how do I get hold of them?
Deeds, as such, no longer exist as the majority of properties in Newbury Park are recorded digitally at Land Registry. If you need to establish evidence of proprietorship or are selling or re-mortgaging your conveyancer will need to obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.
If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned as quickly as possible.