My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a house in Sea Mills and have appointed a Sea Mills conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. HSBC Bank have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Sea Mills conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard 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 property lawyer should contact your bank 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Sea Mills lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I own a freehold house in Sea Mills but still charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Sea Mills and has limited impact for conveyancing in Sea Mills but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be extinguished.
We're in Sea Mills, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Virgin Money , and our lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I have todaybecome aware that Stirling Law have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Sea Mills for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 9 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to check if the property is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Sea Mills conveyancing specialists.
I have been pointed in your direction by a few estate agents in Sea Mills to select a conveyancer on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers ahead of another?
We don’t give any financial incentive for directing people our way. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I am a couple of weeks into a residential purchase having been referred to solicitors by the selling agent to carry out the conveyancing in Sea Mills. We are not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?
They would need to be very bad to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage offer been sent? In the event that it has you must advise them of the new contact details and have the mortgage documents are re-issued. Your new solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid escalating charges and complications. That should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The search tool can help you find a bank approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Sea Mills