Is the fact that my solicitor in Ryton is not identified on my mortgage company's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s work?
That is most likely a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should contact the Ryton conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
I am buying a property without a mortgage in Ryton. I have been residing for the last dozen years in Ryton. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I have knowledge of the area and road very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a home loan, then almost all of the Ryton conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer will 'advise', no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he is duty bound to do this. One thing to take into account; if you are going to sell the house in the future, it may be of relevance to your prospective purchaser what the searches contain. Sometimes premises with no practical issues can still show up unpredicted search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Ryton should be able to give you some sensible advice in this regard.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Nationwide as we want to conduct improvements to our property in Ryton. Do we need to appoint a nearby Ryton solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Nationwide don't usually appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nationwide panel.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with UBS. Ryton conveyancing lawyers have been instructed. How long does it take for UBS to forward the offer to the conveyancer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have UBS completed the valuation? Have you informed UBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the UBS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
Having digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Ryton solicitor - who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Bank of Ireland will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Bank of Ireland 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 conveyancer 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 Ryton postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Ryton.
My colleague suggested that if I am buying in Ryton I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Ryton conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Ryton around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Ryton Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Ryton.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Ryton I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Ryton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you require a home loan that many years will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
A conveyancing company acted on my conveyancing in Ryton four years ago and was holding my deeds but has now closed – What steps do I now take to retreive these?
Title deeds, as such, no longer exist as most properties in Ryton are archived electronically at Land Registry. Should you need to establish evidence of proprietorship or are disposing of or re-mortgaging your lawyer should obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.
If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned as quickly as possible.