I can't travel far from Timsbury. I would like to know the reason why all Timsbury property lawyers aren't automatically on all lender panels?
Even though it may seem unfair for mortgage companies to restrict who can represent them, from the public’s or solicitor’s standpoint, the the contrary view is that lenders are increasingly anxious and consider it vital to shield themselves from mortgage fraud. As a result of this concern mortgage companies have consolidated their panel of approved conveyancing lawyers to a manageable size.
My husband and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Timsbury with Skipton. We have a son 19 who lives with us. 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 property is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 Skipton. This is solely used to protect Skipton 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 Skipton 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 a dozen years since I purchased my home in Timsbury. Conveyancing solicitors have now been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate the deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by your lender or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who acted in 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. Almost all conveyancing in Timsbury involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
My wife and I are purchasing a property in Timsbury. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we will need to put funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Timsbury. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Santander have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Santander your lawyer must check the formal instructions contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Santander. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Santander where a lease does not meet these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not isolated to Timsbury.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Timsbury solicitor - who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Barclays will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Barclays will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Timsbury postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Timsbury.
The deeds to my property can not be found. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Timsbury 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be recorded by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to carry out a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and obtain current copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for twenty pounds.
Is it possible to swap conveyancer as I have to select a firm on the Barclays Direct conveyancing list. I hired a family conveyancing solicitor in Timsbury round the corner but the firm is not accepted by Barclays Direct
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Timsbury on the Barclays Direct panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we work with do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Timsbury. In utilising search facility on this page, you can compare fees for conveyancing solicitors in Timsbury and beyond.