My husband and I are planning to purchase a property in Polegate and are in fact using a Polegate conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Virgin Money have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Polegate conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Polegate lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Due to complete my purchase in Polegate next Thursday. My solicitor now wants me to supply her with proof of content and building insurance for the property as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the bank. What does the insurance need to cover?
Any lawyer on acting for lenders would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 conditions. These obligations are not unique to conveyancing in Polegate.
My grandmother passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Polegate. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £4500. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Kent Reliance, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you plan to refinance then Kent Reliance will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Kent Reliance mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
What can a local search inform me regarding the property we're buying in Polegate?
Polegate conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company such as Xpress Legal The local search is essential in every Polegate conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your property. The search will supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject sections.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Polegate?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Polegate. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Is it possible to switch firm as I have to select a firm on the Virgin Money conveyancing list. I had appointed a family conveyancing solicitor in Polegate five minutes from me but she is not accepted by Virgin Money
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Polegate on the Virgin Money panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we on the directory do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are registered with the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Polegate. Using search facility on this site, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Polegate.