My partner and I are hoping to acquire a home in Sevenoaks and have instructed a Sevenoaks conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barnsley Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Sevenoaks conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional 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 Quality 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 and you may continue to use your own Sevenoaks solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Me and my partner are soon to complete buying a house in Sevenoaks but as a consequence of damage from some water damage at the property I have was able negotiate reparation from the vendor of six thousand pounds taking the form of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of a side agreement yet Principality are not allowing this. Why were they involved?
Any property lawyer being on the Principality approved list is obliged to inform Principality of any variations to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyer to disclose the price change to Principality then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Principality and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Sevenoaks.
At what point does exchange of contracts occur in residential conveyancing in Sevenoaks and do I need to attend the lawyers branch?
If you are in close proximity to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Sevenoaks you are welcome to come in to sign contracts. However, the firms we recommend supply countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally detailed and professional a job for you when dealing with you by post or email. The executing of the contract is not the critical part. Signing on the dotted line is just a prerequisite for the conveyancer to exchange contracts at the appropriate time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is is usually a five minute process, although where a lengthy "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Sevenoaks)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
There are numerous conveyancing solicitors in Sevenoaks but how do I know who's good?
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the cheapest Sevenoaks conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. 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.
I am purchasing a property in Sevenoaks. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Leeds Building Society be concerned?
As your lender is Leeds Building Society your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing requirements set out in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Leeds Building Society. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Leeds Building Society where a lease does not satisfy these requirements. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Sevenoaks.
I currently have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in Sevenoaks. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Nottingham?
You must advise Nottingham in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Nottingham will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nottingham directly. You need not do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel firm.
I decided to have a survey done on a house in Sevenoaks prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to grant a loan on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Sevenoaks. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Sevenoaks to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
Are there any apps to assist me to identify a Sevenoaks law firm on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am prepared to travel upto 25miles to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the tool on this website. Please select a lender and your location and you will see a number of Sevenoaks conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Sevenoaks conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can contact them to check if they are on the Virgin Money member panel