Much to our surprise we have been informed by our estate agent that my Page Green solicitor is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be sure whether this is correct?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Page Green conveyancer. You lawyer should inform you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.
I am buying a property for cash in Page Green. I have lived for the previous dozen years in Page Green. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I have knowledge of the road and vicinity very well should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
In the absence of a home loan, then all but one or two of the Page Green conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but she has a professional duty to do this. Do take into account; if you are likely to sell the house in the future, it will likely be be of relevance to your future buyer what the searches determine. There are plenty of instances where premises with day to day issues can still reveal unfavourable search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Page Green will be able to give you some practical guidance here.
I am planning to acquire a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Page Green who is on the Britannia approved. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Britannia in certain locations such as Page Green. We dont recommend any particular firm.
We had selected conveyancing lawyers located in Page Green on the Virgin Money solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a supplemental charge for the legal aspects of the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Virgin Money?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer can levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Virgin Money but by your Page Green conveyancer. Some firms on the Virgin Money panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many practices include it on their overall fee.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Page Green. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Soon after, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Page Green solicitor - who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Page Green postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Page Green.
How does conveyancing in Page Green differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Page Green contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Page Green tend to acquire 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 Page Green or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Page Green in advance of instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks tend not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you call us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Page Green. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Page Green especially if they are familiar with such properties in Page Green.