My wife and I are hoping to purchase a home in Torfaen and are in fact using a Torfaen conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Torfaen solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Torfaen lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my home in Torfaen. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I can't track down my title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by your lender or they could still be with the lawyers who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Torfaen relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
When it comes to lenders such as Clydesdale, do Torfaen conveyancers face a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
is it true that all Torfaen solicitor practices on the Co-operative conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Co-operative approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be regulated by the CLC.
I have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in Torfaen. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Nottingham?
You must advise Nottingham before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 Nottingham directly. You need not do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor.
Will my lawyer be raising enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Torfaen.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Torfaen. Plenty of people will purchase a house in Torfaen, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Torfaen. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual question of the seller to find out whether the premises has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a compensation claim stemming from an inaccurate answer. The purchaser’s solicitors will also commission an environmental report. This will higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be initiated.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Torfaen is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Torfaen are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Torfaen you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Torfaen may decide 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 business partner and I are intending to lease a unit on the high street. Can you recommend solicitors offering fixed charges for commercial conveyancing in Torfaen for below 2k?
We are happy to recommend firms who have well rounded knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Torfaen, including the disposal and purchase of businesses as well as simply property. If you are intending to buy or sell a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a complete business we can find you the right solicitor. Regarding the costs this will depend on the structure and heads of terms of the deal. Please provide us with your contact information or call us so that we may supply you with a detailed commercial conveyancing calculation.