It has come to my attention via my broker that my Streatham solicitor is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to check?
The sensible course of action for you to take is to call your Streatham lawyer directly. You lawyer should notify 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 lender.
My husband and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Streatham with Virgin Money. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Virgin Money had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
It is is a decade since I acquired my property in Streatham. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I am unable to track down the title deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they could stored with the solicitor who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Streatham relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
This question may be naive but I am new to the home buying as a first time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Streatham. Do I collect the keys to the house on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Streatham?
On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Streatham. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the owner’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.
My partner and I have organised a further advance on our mortgage from Co-operative as we wish to conduct alterations to our house in Streatham. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar Streatham solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Co-operative don't usually appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Co-operative panel.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Barclays. Streatham conveyancing solicitors are appointed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Barclays?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Barclays conducted the survey? Have you informed Barclays as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Barclays conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing practitioner in Streatham for my house move. Is there any facility to review a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Anyone may review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations started on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find records Pre 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor call for training purposes.
Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of Streatham solicitors? How do you know who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel?
Streatham firms and firms conducting conveyancing in Streatham themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the bank conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the bank directly.