My wife and I are intending to buy a 1 bedroom flat in St Neots with a mortgage. We like our St Neots lawyer, but the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our St Neots conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you 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. Another option that might be available is for your St Neots conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am buying a house for cash in St Neots. I have lived for the last 20 years in St Neots. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I know the road and vicinity intimately must I have all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a home loan, then almost all of the St Neots conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your lawyer will ’encourage you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches completed, but she is duty bound to do this. Do take into account; if you are going to sell the house one day, it will likely be be of importance to your future purchaser what the searches disclose. On occasion premises with day to day issues can still reveal unpredicted search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in St Neots will provide you some practical advice in this regard.
My fiance and I decided to purchase a 3 bedroom flat in St Neots with a mortgage from TSB.We would like to retain our St Neots conveyancing solicitor but TSB advised that he's not on their approved list of firms. It seems we are left with no choice but to instruct a TSB panel solicitor or retain our local solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that TSB use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that lawyers must be on the TSB solicitor panel. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for TSB
I am selling our property in St Neots and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A high street St Neots lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers are using an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in St Neots. Having lived in St Neots for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
How does conveyancing in St Neots differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in St Neots contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because builders in St Neots usually acquire the real estate, 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 Neots or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. St Neots is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in St Neots are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in St Neots you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St Neots may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.