My fiance and I are planning to acquire a flat in Yelverton and have appointed a Yelverton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Halifax have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Yelverton solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Yelverton solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Yelverton? What am I being asked for?
Yelverton conveyancing solicitors and indeed property lawyers throughout the UK have a duty under Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules to check the identity of any client with a view to satisfy themselves that clients are who they say they are.
Conveyancing clients are required to provide two forms of certified ID; proof of ID (usually a Passport or Driving Licence) and proof of address (usually a Bank Statement no older than three months).
Evidence of the origin of funds is also necessary under the money laundering statutes as lawyers have a duty to check that the money you are utilising to purchase a property (whether it be the deposit for exchange or the total purchase monies if you are buying without a mortgage) has originated from legitimate source (such as an inheritance) rather than the proceeds of criminal behaviour.
My Solicitor in Yelverton is not on the Bank of Scotland Solicitor Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Bank of Scotland approved list?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Yelverton solicitors but Bank of Scotland will need to use a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the overall conveyancing charges as well as result in frustration.
- Find an alternative lawyer to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are on the Bank of Scotland panel
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Yelverton is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Yelverton are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Yelverton you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Yelverton may decide 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 property.
I have been advised by a few selling agents in Yelverton to get a quote from a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to make any commission for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I am using a search engine for the words on line conveyancing in Yelverton it brings up many solicitorslocally. With so much choice what is the best way to find the suitable solicitor for me?
The preferential way of choosing the right conveyancer is via trusted referral, so ask friends and those you trust who have purchased a property in Yelverton or a local estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Yelverton vary, so it's a good idea to secure a minimum of three costs illustrations from varying types of companies. Dont forget to clarify what costs in the quote includes.