My wife and I are getting closer to an exchange on a property in Putney and my parents have sent the 10% deposit to my solicitor. I am now advised that as the deposit has not arrived from me my lawyer needs to disclose this to my lender. I am advised that, in also acting for the bank he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I informed the mortgage company about my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for this now to be an issue?
Your conveyancer is legally required to clarify with lender to make sure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only reveal this to your lender if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
My apartment in Putney is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does the lawyer have to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently at the moment.
A colleague advised me that where I am purchasing in Putney I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Putney conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Putney around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Putney Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Putney.
It has been 2 months following my purchase conveyancing in Putney concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Putney differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Putney contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because developers in Putney tend to acquire 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 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 Putney or who has acted in the same development.
Is it the case that all Putney law firms on every lender conveyancing panel?
The Lexsure search tool on this page may be of use or you can drop into your local lender branch in Putney. the probability is that they will know some good conveyancing solicitors in Putney