My husband and I are intending to buy a 2 bedroom apartment in Toddington with a mortgage. We like our Toddington solicitor, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Toddington solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Toddington conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
It is a dozen years since I bought my house in Toddington. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate the title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be with your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly in all probability the property 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 Toddington relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
A friend pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Toddington there may be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Toddington which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Toddington should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Toddington off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Virgin Money. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Toddington. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £200. A few days later, the lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My friend suggested that where I am buying in Toddington I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Toddington conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Toddington around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Toddington Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Toddington.
Is it possible to swap solicitor as I need to retain a firm on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing list. I instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Toddington round the corner but he is not approved by Birmingham Midshires
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Toddington on the Birmingham Midshires panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we list do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Toddington. Using the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this site, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Toddington.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my uncle I am selling a property in Swansea but I am based in Toddington. My solicitor (who is 235 kilometers awayrequires that I sign a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Toddington to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Toddington