It is a dozen years since I bought my property in Newington. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I can't find my deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by the lender or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Newington involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Newington for our house purchase. Our financial adviser informed us that our bank Santander won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Lenders normally restrict either the category or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, a few lenders have reduced the number of firms they use to act for them. Be aware that Santander have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Santander Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are mixed views about the level of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Newington only carry out very few conveyances a year.
My friend recommended that if I am buying in Newington I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Newington conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Newington around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Newington Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Newington.
How does conveyancing in Newington differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Newington contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because builders in Newington typically 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Newington or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Newington before retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not issue a mortgage on such a premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Newington. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
My partner has suggested that I use his conveyancing solicitors in Newington. Should I use them?
No doubt the ideal way to choose a conveyancing practitioner is to get referrals from friends or family who have previously instructed the firm that you are contemplating using.