I am 3 weeks into the sale of my ground floor flat in Stapleton and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Stapleton ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Lenders justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
We had selected conveyancers locally in Stapleton on the UBS solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me an additional charge for dealing with the UBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by UBS?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner may charge a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by UBS but by your Stapleton conveyancing practitioner. Some firms on the UBS panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Aldermore. Is it usual for Aldermore to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Stapleton is approved on their conveyancing panel? Aldermore have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Aldermore to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
My offer on a property in Stapleton has been agreed to, the vendors do however have a tied purchase. The owners have offered on on an apartment, but it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other properties booked. I have chosen a local conveyancing solicitor in Stapleton. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Kent Reliance started?
It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then valuation, Stapleton conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to check that your conveyancer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market some purchasers will apply for a home loan with Kent Reliance and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their lawyer to proceed with searches.
A friend suggested that where I am buying in Stapleton I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Stapleton conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Stapleton around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Stapleton.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house are lost. The conveyancers who dealt with the conveyancing in Stapleton 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
Assuming the title is registered the details of your ownership will be evidenced by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is possible to conduct a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and get current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for twenty pounds.
How does conveyancing in Stapleton differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Stapleton contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because developers in Stapleton typically acquire 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 property lawyers 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 Stapleton or who has acted in the same development.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Stapleton and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Stapleton. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Stapleton area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Stapleton. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found