My husband and I are planning to acquire a house in Newcastle under Lyme and are in fact using a Newcastle under Lyme conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Newcastle under Lyme solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 Newcastle under Lyme lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am hoping to complete my purchase in Newcastle under Lyme next Tuesday. My lawyer now wants me to supply her with proof of content and building insurance for the property as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the lender. What risks does the lender expect the insurance to cover?
Any lawyer on acting for lenders would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 requirements. These obligations are not specific to conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my property in Newcastle under Lyme. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't track down my deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by your mortgage company or they could stored with the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
Various web forums that I have visited warn that are a common cause of hinderance in Newcastle under Lyme house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Newcastle under Lyme. 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 impact my commercial property in Newcastle under Lyme and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to gives security of tenure to commercial leaseholders, granting the right to apply to court for a renewal tenancy and continue in occupation at the end of the lease term. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Newcastle under Lyme is one of the hundreds of areas of the UK in which the firms we work with are located