Me and my partner are buying a 1 bedroom flat in South Woodford with a mortgage. We would like to retain our South Woodford conveyancer, but the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to use one of the bank panel firms or keep our South Woodford conveyancer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to insist that the mortgage company use our South Woodford property lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your South Woodford conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Have just purchased a probate house at auction in South Woodford. Conveyancing is required. What is next?
Now that you are for all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you should hire the services of a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you are facing a pending a fixed date to complete the purchase. An auction property should have a corresponding auction set of papers. This will include most,if not all of the documents that your conveyancer requires. If you have purchased leasehold premises the auction pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork relating to a leasehold property. You need to hand this to the solicitor instructed by you ASAP. Do make sure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
We had appointed conveyancing lawyers located in South Woodford on the UBS solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a further amount for handling the UBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by UBS?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your property lawyer may levy a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by UBS but by your South Woodford solicitor. Some firms on the UBS panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some firms include it on their overall fee.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my South Woodford bank branch on various occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they would lend. My South Woodford conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I have no idea who is right.
Your conveyancing practitioner must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two requirements for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I have todaydiscovered that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in South Woodford for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to check if the property is registered to you, you can make 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 South Woodford conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in South Woodford differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in South Woodford come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because house builders in South Woodford typically buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in South Woodford or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in South Woodford in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks tend not grant a mortgage on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you e-mail us we can investigate further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in South Woodford. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in South Woodford especially if they are familiar with such properties in South Woodford.
We're FTB’s - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent has warned us that the owners will only move forward if we use their chosen lawyers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer used to conveyancing in South Woodford
We suspect that the owner is not behind this requirement. If they want ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious buyer is going to damage their objectives. Contact the vendors directly and make sure they understand (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances in place © you are unencumbered (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you intend to appoint your preferred South Woodford conveyancing lawyers - rather thanthe ones that will provide their estate agent a kickback or meet his conveyancing figures pre-set by HQ.