My husband and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom flat in Ottershaw with a mortgage. We have a Ottershaw lawyer, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or retain our Ottershaw conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Ottershaw conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Ottershaw? Why is this being asked of me?
You are right in the requirement set out by your lawyer has nothing to do with conveyancing in Ottershaw. Nowadays you will not be able to proceed with any conveyancing deal in the absence providing proof of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence plus a bank statement. Please note that if you are providing your driving licence as proof of identification it needs to be both the paper section as well as the photo card part, one is not satisfactory in the absence of the other.
Evidence of your origin of money is mandated in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. You should not be offended when when this is requested of you as your conveyancer will need to have this information on file. Your Ottershaw conveyancing practitioner will require evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any funds from you into their client account and they may also ask further queries regarding the source of funds.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is suspended from the UBS Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Ottershaw?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
We are downsizing from our property in Ottershaw and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A high street Ottershaw lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used an internet conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Ottershaw. We have lived in Ottershaw for 5 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to seek confirmation need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? 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)
I have recentlyfound out that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Ottershaw for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to check if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Ottershaw conveyancing specialists.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Ottershaw is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Ottershaw are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Ottershaw 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 Ottershaw may ascertain 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 premises.