My partner and I are looking to purchase a property in Wilton and have instructed a Wilton conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. HSBC Bank have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Wilton solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Wilton solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Having sold my house in Wilton last July yet the purchaser is calling every few hours to say her lawyer needs to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale legalities now that I have sold?
Post completion of your disposal your solicitor should send the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Where appropriate, your solicitor must also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been repaid to the buyers solicitors. There are no post completion tasks just for conveyancing in Wilton.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Principality Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Wilton?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
Should my solicitor be making enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Wilton.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in Wilton. There are those who acquire a property in Wilton, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that may be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Wilton. The conventional set of information sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a standard question of the seller to find out if the premises has suffered from flooding. If the property has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the owner, then a purchaser could bring a compensation claim stemming from an incorrect response. A buyer’s conveyancers will also conduct an environmental search. This will higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be carried out.
I own a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Wilton. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and HSBC Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Wilton 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 purchasers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Wilton. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Wilton who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Wilton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Wilton - Sample of Queries Prior to buying
-
Plenty Wilton leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this liability, normally quarterly during the year. This can vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large figure, say around £25-£75 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. If a Wilton lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Wiltonlease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the residence for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. What restrictions are contained in the Wilton Lease?