My husband and I are hoping to buy a newly converted apartment in Wollaston with a loan from Alliance & Leicester .We like our Wollaston conveyancing practitioner but Alliance & Leicester informed us he's not on their approved list of member firms. It seems we have little choice but to instruct a Alliance & Leicester panel solicitor or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for a Alliance & Leicester panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will be on the Alliance & Leicester approved list. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose 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 Alliance & Leicester
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Wollaston what would it be?
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Wollaston conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Wollaston. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £200. Shortly after, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Principality 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 Principality 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.
Barclays have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a house in Wollaston has been accepted, what happens next?
Your estate agent will need to be advised as to your property lawyer's details (ensure that the conveyancers are on the bank’s panel). Call up Barclays or your financial adviser and finalise any outstanding paperwork. Barclays will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Barclays will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Wollaston.
I have recentlybecome aware that Action Conveyancing have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Wollaston for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Wollaston conveyancing specialists.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Wollaston. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Wollaston
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Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Wollaston is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Wollaston are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Wollaston you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wollaston may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
We are 14 days into a freehold purchase having been directed to solicitors by the local agent to perform conveyancing in Wollaston. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
A conveyancer would have to be very bad in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? If so you must advise them of the new solicitor and get the loan are re-issued. The conveyancer needs to be on the lenders approved list to avoid added charges and frustration. So that should be your starting point. The find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Wollaston