My partner and I are acquiring a new build flat in Trowbridge and my solicitor is advising me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I don't want to prolong matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Trowbridge even if I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example where I want to buy a shop in Trowbridge with a mortgage from Nationwide Building Society?
Our search tool is mainly used to get a quote from domestic conveyancing solicitors in Trowbridge but we have recorded at the end of this page a selection of Trowbridge commercial conveyancing firms. You should speak with the company directly to establish if they can also act for Nationwide Building Society
we are a couple who are hoping to buy a 1 bedroom flat in Trowbridge with a mortgage from Clydesdale.We would like to retain our Trowbridge conveyancing solicitor but Clydesdale informed us he's not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Clydesdale panel firm or retain our preferred solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The home loan issued to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that conveyancers must be on the Clydesdale approved list. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Clydesdale
My wife and I have organised the release of further monies on our home loan from Coventry BS as we intend to conduct renovations to our property in Trowbridge. Are we obliged to choose a nearby Trowbridge solicitor on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Coventry BS don't usually appoint 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 Coventry BS list.
My husband and I are at the point of looking at houses in Trowbridge and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Kent Reliance.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Trowbridge. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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 wife and I purchased a semi-detached Victorian house in Trowbridge. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Accord Mortgages Ltd. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Trowbridge and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
How does conveyancing in Trowbridge differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Trowbridge contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because builders in Trowbridge tend to acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Trowbridge or who has acted in the same development.