How up to date is your search tool for St John's Wood conveyancing solicitors on the Nottingham conveyancing panel? Do Nottingham send you an updated list?
St John's Wood conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Nottingham directly.
Do I have to visit the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in St John's Wood so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Most approved lawyers for lenders undertake the vast majority of work through Royal Mail, internet or over phone calls. This enables them to undertake the legal work for your home move regardless of where you live in England or Wales. Nevertheless you can see if you have the option of going to the offices of your conveyancing lawyer if needed.
I can not fathom if my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my St John's Wood bank branch on various occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they will lend. My St John's Wood conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their published requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the lawyer is on the bank panel, she or he must adhere to the CML Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank 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 remaining.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in St John's Wood. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £150. Soon after, the conveyancer contacted me to say that they were not on the Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.
Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local St John's Wood solicitor - who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own St John's Wood surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
How does conveyancing in St John's Wood differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in St John's Wood come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because builders in St John's Wood usually 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in St John's Wood or who has acted in the same development.
I'm converting the mortgage on my primary property to a BTL mortgage with Bank of Scotland and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on a second property. The area we are talking about is St John's Wood. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of lenders and tie in the two deals?
Make use of our comparison tool on this site to be sure that the lawyers are approved by both mortgage companies. Assuming that they are the lawyer will be able to connect the two deals but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and specify your expectations and needs.
As co-executor for the will of my father I am selling a house in Cardiff but I am based in St John's Wood. My conveyancer (approximately 235 miles from meneeds me to sign a stat dec ahead of completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in St John's Wood who can witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are St John's Wood based