I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Sprowston solicitor on the Virgin Money panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Sprowston. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Soon after, the solicitor contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Coventry BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Sprowston solicitor - who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Sprowston postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Sprowston.
I have been told that property searches are a common cause of delay in Sprowston conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Sprowston.
3 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Sprowston took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Sprowston differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Sprowston come to us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because builders in Sprowston 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 Sprowston or who has acted in the same development.
In searching the internet for the phrase cheap conveyancing in Sprowston it brings up numerous conveyancerslocally. With so much choice what is the best way to find the suitable conveyancing solicitor for me?
The preferential method of seeking the right conveyancer is through a trusted testimonial, so enquire of friends and those you trust who have purchased a property in Sprowston or the local estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Sprowston vary, so it's a good idea to secure a minimum of four fee estimates from different conveyancers. Be sure to obtain confirmation that the costs are guaranteed not to to be inflated.
Do online conveyancing companies undertake everything a local Sprowston solicitor does or do I still need to use a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in Sprowston?
Where you use an online conveyancer they should undertake all the tasks your Sprowston solicitor would cover.