My wife and I are looking to buy a property in Virginia Water and are in fact using a Virginia Water conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Lloyds TSB Bank have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Virginia Water lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 property lawyer 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Virginia Water lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My wife and I have a renovated Edwardian property in Virginia Water. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Aldermore. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should 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 Virginia Water and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one near me in Virginia Water I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Virginia Water suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
Do I need to be concerned by 3rd parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Virginia Water conveyancing company?
As with many service providers, often input from relatives can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are lots of players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies may suggest conveyancers to instruct. Sometimes these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there might be a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You have the discretion to select your own conveyancer. However, bear in mind that many lenders specify a panel list of lawyers you must use for the lender related work in your house move.
In my capacity as executor for the estate of my grandmother I am selling a residence in Neath but I am based in Virginia Water. My conveyancer (who is 260 kilometers awayhas requested that I execute a stat dec ahead of completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Virginia Water to witness and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you should not need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are based in Virginia Water
My husband and I are purchasing a ground floor flat in Virginia Water. At the point of instructing our property lawyer, they told us that they were on all mainstream lender panels. The financial adviser emailed just now to advise that they don't seem to be on the Principality approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Should we just find a different conveyancer that is on their approved list or should we pay for dual representation, with Principality appointing their own approved property lawyer.
When acquiring a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the buyer’s solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a conveyancing practitioner has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the solicitor to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the solicitor has to fulfill. Some banks now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your conveyancer should call Principality to find out 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 Principality's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Virginia Water solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another solicitor into the mix.