We are planning to purchase a 3 bedroom flat in Old Woking with a mortgage. We have a Old Woking lawyer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to use one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or keep our Old Woking solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Old Woking conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The owners have very brash sellers who has recommended a preliminary contract with a deposit of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?
Exclusivity agreements are agreements between a home owner and prospective buyer giving the buyer exclusive rights to purchase the premises for a certain period of time. For all intents and purposes, a lock out agreement is a contract specifying that you should receive a contract at a later date which is the main conveyancing contract. It is generally used for buyer confidence though in some cases, the vendor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are various pros and cons to having them but you need to check with your conveyancer but note that it may result in incurring more in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these contracts are unusual when it comes to conveyancing in Old Woking.
We wanted to use a property lawyer in Old Woking for our house purchase. Our financial adviser has since advised us that our mortgage company Santander won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?
Banks normally restrict either the category or the volume of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. A common example of such criteria being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, a few lenders have decided to limit 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 primary driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are differing opinions about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Old Woking only conduct very few conveyances per annum.
How does conveyancing in Old Woking differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Old Woking contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because new home sellers in Old Woking usually buy the real estate, 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 property lawyers 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 Old Woking or who has acted in the same development.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Old Woking is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Old Woking are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Old Woking you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Old Woking 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 residence.
As co-executor for the estate of my grandfather I am selling a residence in Newport but I am based in Old Woking. My conveyancer (approximately 260 kilometers awayrequires that I sign a stat dec ahead of the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Old Woking to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are located in Old Woking