My wife and I are hoping to buy a house in Somerstown and are in fact using a Somerstown conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nottingham Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Somerstown conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional 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 property lawyer 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Somerstown solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Do banks and building societies provide you with an approved list of Somerstown conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the UBS conveyancing panel?
Somerstown conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from UBS directly.
I used Wolstenholmes a few years ago for my conveyancing in Somerstown. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Somerstown of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Somerstown. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown
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Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Somerstown before appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor has said that some lenders tend not issue a loan on such a home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Somerstown. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Somerstown especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Somerstown.
I am using a search engine for the term on line conveyancing in Somerstown it reveals numerous solicitorslocally. How do I determine which is the suitable solicitor for the sale of my house?
The best way of seeking a suitable conveyancer is through a trusted testimonial, so enquire of friends and those you trust who have acquired a property in Somerstown or a respected estate agent or mortgage broker. Costs for conveyancing in Somerstown vary, so it's a good idea to obtain at least three fee calculations from different companies. Make sure that you clarify what costs in the quote includes.