We are selling our flat in Strood. Will the lawyer need to be required to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently in recent years.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Strood what would it be?
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Strood conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.
is it true that all Strood conveyancing solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Santander conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the practice would be regulated by the CLC.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Santander. I assume I don't need a Strood lawyer on the Santander panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Santander mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Santander mortgage from the register. Santander, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Santander has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Santander has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Should our lawyer be asking questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Strood.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Strood. Plenty of people will purchase a house in Strood, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that may be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Strood. The standard completed inquiry forms supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual question of the vendor to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer may bring a claim for damages resulting from an misleading response. The purchaser’s conveyancers should also conduct an environmental report. This should higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be made.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Strood benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it may jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I was pointed in your direction by two or three local property agents in Strood to find a conveyancer using your seach tool. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to market your site over and above a competitor’s?
We don’t offer any commission for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I need to switch lawyers as my Strood lawyer is not on the mortgage company's approved list of conveyancing solicitors. Is it practical to instruct different lawyers?
In the event that you have not formally appointed a solicitor to do anything for you and have just received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Strood that you're considering.