We are purchasing a newly constructed flat in South West London and my lawyer is informing me that she has to the bank to disclose incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
My property lawyer in South West London is not on the Clydesdale Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to use my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Clydesdale panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing South West London solicitors but Clydesdale will need to retain a lawyer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the overall legal fees and cause frustration.
- Find an alternative lawyer to act in the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the Clydesdale panel
Should my lawyer be asking questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in South West London.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers conducting conveyancing in South West London. There are those who buy a property in South West London, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in South West London. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual inquiry of the owner to determine whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser may issue a legal claim for losses resulting from an misleading answer. The purchaser’s lawyers should also commission an enviro search. This should disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be carried out.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in South West London?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in South West London. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
My father has urged me to appoint his lawyers for conveyancing in South West London. Should I use them?
There are no two ways about it it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the firm you're are thinking of instructing.
We have been informed by many estate agents that it may take up to two months for South West London conveyancing to complete.This was a month ago. The draft contract was only forwarded from the vendors lawyer a few days ago so does the clock start running now?
You need to be pragmatic about timelines. Property transactions in South West London usually takes about two months. This timeframe is not due to solicitor being slow and willfully delay matters. The amount of money involved in purchasing any property is so high, the purchaser's conveyancer needing to carry out a whole range of enquiries, searches and supplemental checks to protect the buyer and their lender (if there is to be a home loan) from expensive, avoidable problems. Conveyancing in South West London involves getting information from various different parties, for example other conveyancer, local councils, private companies, building societies and banks. Some of these are efficient. Others are not. And remember, no matter how quickly your lawyer do their job, if the people you are buying from or are selling to aren't ready, nothing can go ahead until they are.