My wife and I are looking to purchase a home in Thorne and are in fact using a Thorne conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Clydesdale have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Thorne lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Thorne solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
What is your number one tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Thorne
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Thorne conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying 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.
When it comes to lenders such as Leeds Building Society, do Thorne property lawyers have to pay a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Principality as we intend to conduct alterations to our home in Thorne. Are we obliged to choose a bricks and mortar Thorne solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
Principality would not normally require firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Principality list.
Will my solicitor be making enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Thorne.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Thorne. Plenty of people will buy a property in Thorne, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of searches that can be initiated by the buyer or by their solicitors which will figure out the risks in Thorne. The standard completed inquiry forms supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the vendor to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. If the residence has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the seller, then a buyer could bring a legal claim for losses resulting from an misleading reply. The purchaser’s conveyancers will also order an environmental search. This will reveal whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be conducted.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Thorne?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Thorne. 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…’
Given that I am about to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on 3 bedroom house in Thorne I would like to talk to a conveyancer concerning thehome move ahead of instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the lawyer due to be conducting your conveyancing in Thorne.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a case number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are provided with for your conveyancing in Thorne should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Thorne where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Thorne conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Thorne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying
-
Its a good idea to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants if they are happy with their management. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Most Thorne leasehold flats will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied by the landlord. Should you buy the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically throughout the year. This could be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check as sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.