I am in the process of selling my home in South Norwood and the EA has just text me to warn that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in South Norwood ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
The owners of the house we are looking to purchase have appointed a conveyancing firm in South Norwood who has recommended a lock out contract with a deposit of 5k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
There are two primary concerns with executing a lock out agreement (occasionally referred to as a no-shop agreement) is that it takes away the focus from moving forward with the conveyancing transaction itself, so in the absence of it needing little or no negotiation then it could turn out to be unhelpful. It is not strongly advocated by South Norwood conveyancing solicitors as a result. A supplemental negative is the extent of the remedies available - an aggrieved purchaser is very unlikely to be granted an injunctive ruling by a court to bar the owner disposing of the property to an alternative purchaser, so the only remedy available under the agreement will be the reimbursement of abortive costs and, in limited situations, the additional payment of penalties.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my property in South Norwood. Conveyancing lawyers have now been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find the deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be with the mortgage company or they may still be with the conveyancers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in South Norwood relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
Should our lawyer be asking questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in South Norwood.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers specialising in conveyancing in South Norwood. There are those who acquire a house in South Norwood, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in South Norwood. The conventional set of information given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the seller to find out if the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that the property has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser could commence a compensation claim resulting from an inaccurate reply. The buyer’s solicitors will also commission an enviro report. This should higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be conducted.
About to purchase a new build apartment in South Norwood. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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 is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in South Norwood
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Please supply a car parking plan. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. 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.
Should I use a South Norwood conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am buying? I have an old university friend who can carry out the conveyancing however his firm is located 200kilometers away.
The primary upside of using a local South Norwood conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to execute paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and they were happy that must trump using an unfamiliar South Norwood conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.