My partner and I are hoping to buy a property in North Wembley and have instructed a North Wembley conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our North Wembley conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors 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 lender 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred North Wembley lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is is a decade since I purchased my home in North Wembley. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I am unable to find my title documents. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be with your lender or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in North Wembley involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
How can we tell if a North Wembley conveyancing solicitor on the Kent Reliance panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in North Wembley seeking recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always suggest that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Nationwide as we want to carry out alterations to our house in North Wembley. Are we obliged to select a high street North Wembley solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Nationwide do not ordinarily instruct firms on their conveyancing panel 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 Nationwide list.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment in North Wembley accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on a flat, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments booked. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in North Wembley. What do I do now? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with Barclays?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then valuation, North Wembley conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your solicitor is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the uniqueness of your case, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. In a hot market some purchasers would apply for a home loan with Barclays and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in North Wembley.
I am planning on selling our house in North Wembley and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street North Wembley lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used an online conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in North Wembley. We have lived in North Wembley for six years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to seek confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. North Wembley is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in North Wembley are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside North Wembley you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in North Wembley may decide 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 property.
Should I be wary by 3rd parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an internet conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street North Wembley conveyancing company?
As is the case with many service providers, often input from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. But there are many players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may recommend solicitors to select. On occasion these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there is an underlying financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the right to appoint your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that most mortgage providers have an approved list of solicitors you have to use for the lender aspect of your transaction.