My partner and I are buying a brand new flat in Woodside and my lawyer is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I would rather not prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
When does exchange of contracts occur in purchase conveyancing in Woodside and am I required to be at the conveyancers office?
If you are near to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Woodside you are welcome to attend to sign contracts. That being said, the lender approved solicitors we recommend supply a nationwide conveyancing service and give just as comprehensive and professional a job for you when dealing with you electronically. The executing of the contract is not the critical part. Signing on the dotted line is necessary for the solicitor to officially exchange when the time is right, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where an extended "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Woodside)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
We're in Woodside, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Principality , and our lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Should my lawyer be making enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Woodside.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Woodside. There are those who buy a house in Woodside, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Woodside. The standard information given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual question of the seller to determine if the premises has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the seller, then a buyer may bring a claim for damages stemming from an misleading response. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also conduct an environmental search. This will higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be carried out.
Me and my brother have a renovated Edwardian house in Woodside. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Santander. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to read 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Woodside and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.
Is it best to instruct a Woodside conveyancing solicitor based in the location that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal formalities but his firm is located approximately 350miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Woodside conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to execute documents, deliver your ID and pester them if necessary. Having local Woodside know how is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were content that should trump using an unknown Woodside conveyancing lawyer just because they are Woodside based.