My wife and I are looking to purchase a home in Pitstone and have instructed a Pitstone conveyancing practice. 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. Leeds Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Pitstone solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 property lawyer 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Pitstone solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Can you help? My Pitstone lawyer is informing me me that he has toorder Pitstone conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the Nat Westapproved lawyer panel. Is my lawyer right?
You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a bank your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancing practitioner would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the CML Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Pitstone conveyancing searches.
My Solicitor in Pitstone is not listed on the Skipton Building Society Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Skipton Building Society panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Pitstone lawyers but Skipton Building Society will need to use a solicitor on their panel. This will result in additional overall legal charges as well as cause delays.
- Choose a new solicitor to act in the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Convince your solicitor to do everything within their powers to join the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel
We are aiming to move home in January. Does my conveyancing solicitor communicate with the removal company on the day of completion. Incidentally, can you put forward a removal company in Pitstone. Conveyancing solicitor was chosen before I stumbled across your site.
On the afternoon of completion you can collect the keys from your property agent however this can only occur when the previous owners solicitors inform the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be handed over. Subsequently you will need to advise the removal company that you are ready to move in. As a matter of policy we do not recommend a particular removal company but can assist you in choosing a residential property solicitor in Pitstone or a solicitor with expertise in conveyancing in Pitstone.
Is it the case that all Pitstone conveyancing solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Santander conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be regulated by the CLC.
How can we know in advance if a Pitstone conveyancing solicitor on the Skipton panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Pitstone seeking recommendations is a sensible start. 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 advocate that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Pitstone. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Pitstone
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The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.
I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and found one close by in Pitstone I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Pitstone for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.