My partner and I are planning to purchase a flat in Axmouth and Branscombe and are in fact using a Axmouth and Branscombe conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. HSBC Bank have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Axmouth and Branscombe conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance 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 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Axmouth and Branscombe lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my home in Axmouth and Branscombe. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't find my deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be retained by the mortgage company or they may stored with the solicitor who handled your purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Axmouth and Branscombe involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
My Conveyancer in Axmouth and Branscombe is not listed on the Chelsea Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Chelsea Building Society panel?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Axmouth and Branscombe solicitors but Chelsea Building Society will need to retain a solicitor on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges and result in delays.
- Choose a new solicitor to to deal with the purchase, obviously checking they are on the Chelsea Building Society panel
What does commercial conveyancing in Axmouth and Branscombe cover?
Axmouth and Branscombe conveyancing for business premises covers a broad range of advice, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. For instance, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of leases.
I am looking for a conveyancing practitioner in Axmouth and Branscombe for my house move. Is it possible to review a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
One can find presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor call for training reasons.
We own a leasehold flat in Axmouth and Branscombe. Conveyancing was completed in five years ago. I have been told that I should not let the the remaining lease term to fall too low. What is the reasoning?
Axmouth and Branscombe leasehold properties are for a fixed period - often ninety nine years when they commenced. However many flats in Axmouth and Branscombe were built or converted in the 60’s and so such leases now have less than eighty years unexpired. This may sound like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies on the whole need leases to have at least seventy five years unexpired to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing eighty years. To increase the marketability of your property you should be thinking about whether or not to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. Furthermore advantages to doing so before the lease hits 80 years as when the lease is less than eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.