My fiance and I are planning to acquire a flat in Watford and have instructed a Watford conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. HSBC Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Watford solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Watford lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
We were just about to exchange contracts for a leasehold flat in Watford. We encountered a snag. The loan offer with Nationwide Building Society runs out on 13/1/2025 but the sellers are putting forward a completion date of 15/1/2025. Is it possible to prolong the loan expiry date?
The person best placed to address this issue is your lawyer who will calculate if they corresponding with the mortgage broker, owner’s representatives, property agents or indeed all parties based on what has happend in your house move as of today.
We are due to move home in December. Should my conveyancing solicitor update the removal company on the completion day. Incidentally, can you put forward a removal company in Watford. Conveyancing solicitor was organised before I stumbled across your site.
On the day of completion you can collect the keys from your estate agent but this should only happen once the sellers solicitors advise the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be passed over. After that you can inform the removal men that you are ready to move in. As a matter of policy we do not recommend a particular removal company but can help you locate a conveyancing in Watford or a lawyer that specialises in conveyancing in Watford.
We had chosen conveyancers located in Watford on the Principality solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further fee for dealing with the Principality mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Principality?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your property lawyer can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Principality but by your Watford conveyancing practitioner. Numerous firms on the Principality panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
I have instructed a Watford lawyer having made sure that they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Watford postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Watford.
Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may affect a commercial land in Watford?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Watford will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers spend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Watford. The report provides definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Watford.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Watford it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately may result in delays to Watford commercial conveyancing deals as well as present a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not carried out for domestic conveyancing in Watford.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Watford in advance of appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks will refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Watford. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Is it true that a Watford conveyancing practice has court proceedings brought against them by clients for failing to conduct the right conveyancing investigations?
Our attention has not be brought to such a Watford conveyancing claim but it has been reported that, clients buying a property in Cumbria successfully sued their lawyer due to development plans to erect a wind farm failing to be identified in conveyancing searches.
If you are buying in Watford It is critical that your property lawyer carry out all Watford conveyancing searches required to ensure you have accurate and up to date information ahead of acquiring a property.