My husband and I are planning to acquire a flat in Stoke Bishop and have appointed a Stoke Bishop conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. National Westminster Bank have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Stoke Bishop conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Stoke Bishop solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I have given 2 months notice to my existing landlord and have to leave my rented property in Stoke Bishop by the end of next month. Conveyancing for my house purchase is underway. Is it possible to complete in 4 weeks as don't want to have to move into temporary accommodation?
It is unwise to provide notice for your tenancy until you have exchanged. Assuming that you have not already done so, update to your conveyancer and urge them to they cajole the sellers lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will work towards
What is the first thing I need to know about purchase conveyancing in Stoke Bishop?
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Stoke Bishop and elsewhere in Bristol is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of room for confrontation between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For instance, the vendor, property agent and on occasion your mortgage company. Selecting a lawyer for your conveyancing in Stoke Bishop an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the transaction whose responsibility is to act in your best interests and to protect you.
Every so often a third party with a vested interest will try and sway you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your conveyancer is dragging his heels. Or your mortgage broker may try to convince you to do take action that is contrary to your solicitors advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.
I am considering applying for a Aldermore mortgage for purchase of a new build (under development) in Stoke Bishop with 65 per cent loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Aldermore ?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, but Aldermore would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
I am looking for a conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Bishop for my remortgage. Is there any facility to see a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public can review presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations stemming from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor telephone calls for training purposes.
Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Stoke Bishop. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Bishop who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Stoke Bishop conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I purchased a split level flat in Stoke Bishop, conveyancing was carried out September 2010. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Stoke Bishop with a long lease are worth £179,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2081
With only 57 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.