My wife and I are hoping to purchase a home in Sacriston and are in fact using a Sacriston conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Sacriston conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 solicitor 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Sacriston solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We wanted to use a property lawyer in Sacriston for our home move. Our broker informed us that our mortgage lenders Coventry Building Society won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Banks in the main restrict either the category or the amount of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, some have reduced the number of solicitor practices they permit to represent them. Be aware that Coventry Building Society have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Coventry Building Society Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are mixed views concerning the extent of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry indicate that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Sacriston only perform very few conveyances a year.
I can see plenty of here regarding conveyancing in Sacriston but what is your top tip for appointing the right conveyancer in Sacriston
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Sacriston conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
We are purchasing a detached bungalow in Sacriston. We would like to carry out an extension to the side at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to ascertain if these alterations were previously refused?
Your solicitor should review the deeds as conveyancing in Sacriston can sometimes identify restrictions in the title deeds which restrict categories of works or necessitated the consent of a 3rd party. Some works call for local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
I have paid off my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Sacriston property lawyer on the Aldermore panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Aldermore mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Aldermore mortgage from the register. Aldermore, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Aldermore has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Aldermore has instructed the Land Registry to do so
My partner and I are selling our house in Sacriston and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Sacriston conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Sacriston. Having lived in Sacriston for many years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
I opted to have a survey done on a property in Sacriston in advance of instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may not issue a mortgage on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Sacriston. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Sacriston especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Sacriston.
My husband and I are 3 weeks into a residential purchase having been recommend to a firm by the high street agent to execute conveyancing in Sacriston. I am am very disappointed with the quality of service. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
A conveyancer would have to be really bad in order to consider diss instructing them. Has your loan offer been issued? In the event that it has you must make them aware of the new contact details and have the offer are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer should be on the banks approved list to avoid escalating fees and delays. So that should be your starting point. Our search tool will assist you in finding a lender approved solicitor for your home move in Sacriston