My partner and I are planning to acquire a house in Torpoint and have appointed a Torpoint conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Halifax have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Torpoint solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal 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 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Torpoint lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Should conveyancers ask for money on account for conveyancing in Torpoint?
If you are buying a property in Torpoint your lawyer will request that you place them with monies to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. When the down payment is payable against the total price then this will be asked for immediately ahead of contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is needed should be transferred a few days ahead of the completion date.
This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as a 1st time purchaser of a two bedroom flat in Torpoint. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Torpoint?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
How can we know in advance if a Torpoint conveyancing solicitor on the Virgin Money panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Torpoint seeking recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always suggest that you speak with the solicitor conducting your conveyancing.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Torpoint. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
My colleague advised me that if I am purchasing in Torpoint 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?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Torpoint conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Torpoint around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Torpoint Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Torpoint Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Torpoint.
I opted to have a survey done on a property in Torpoint ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a loan on this type of premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can look into this further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Torpoint. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Torpoint especially if they are familiar with such properties in Torpoint.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Torpoint from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Torpoint can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Torpoint conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
Torpoint Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying
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It would be wise to enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Torpoint. If you like the flatin Torpoint but your cat can’t make the move with you then you will be faced hard choice. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Does this lease have more than 80 years unexpired?