Much to our surprise we have been told by our lender that my Stockwell property lawyer is not on the bank Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Stockwell conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to inform you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.
We're in Stockwell, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is UBS , and our solicitor is on the UBS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no solicitor should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
My colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Stockwell I should ask my conveyancer to 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 Stockwell conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Stockwell 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 demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Stockwell Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Stockwell.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Stockwell?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Stockwell. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Stockwell is the location of the property. Can you offer any advice?
Flying freeholds in Stockwell are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Stockwell you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Stockwell may decide 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.
Do I cancel my mortgage payments with Principality as soon as a completion date for my sale in Stockwell has been set?
No, you should continue paying any mortgage sums to Principality until the mortgage is paid off on completion as part of your Stockwell conveyancing.