What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Thetford? Why is this being asked of me?
It is indeed that case that these requests have nothing to do with conveyancing in Thetford. However these days you will not be able to complete any conveyancing process if you have not submitting evidence of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence plus a council tax bill. Please note that if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of identification it needs to be both the paper section and photo card part, one is not acceptable in the absence of the other.
Proof of the source of funds is required in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. Please do not be offended when you are asked to produce this as your lawyer will need to have this information on file. Your Thetford conveyancing practitioner will need to see evidence of proof of funds before they are able to accept any monies from you into their client account and they will also ask additional queries regarding the origin of monies.
Are all Thetford Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing list of approved firms?
It is true that some banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
We are getting the release of further monies on our home loan from Nottingham as we intend to conduct a loft conversion to our house in Thetford. Do we need to appoint a local Thetford solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Nottingham do not ordinarily instruct a member of 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 Nottingham conveyancing panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Leeds Building Society for my property in Thetford. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Leeds Building Society?
Your original mortgage agreement with Leeds Building Society will provide that you need their approval prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Leeds Building Society’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Leeds Building Society will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Leeds Building Society directly. You need not do this via a Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor.
I am downsizing from our property in Thetford and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Thetford lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Thetford. Having lived in Thetford for many years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. 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 health insurance to cover that same sickness)
I purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Thetford. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Barclays . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Thetford and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Thetford is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Thetford are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Thetford 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 Thetford may ascertain 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 property.
My 20yr old son is just in the process of moving home, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. One the offer was accepted on house we called the building society to move forward with his. I was disappointed to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all conveyancer, they must be on their panel, is this correct?
Banks tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Thetford property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.