My wife and I are looking to acquire a flat in Barnet and have instructed a Barnet conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Yorkshire Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Barnet conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors 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 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Barnet solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a online directory to to identify firms on the Loughborough BS conveyancing panel for example in Barnet?
We would not expect to be advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility.
Should my lawyer be making enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Barnet.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers specialising in conveyancing in Barnet. Some people will acquire a house in Barnet, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Barnet. The standard information supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual inquiry of the owner to discover whether the property has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect response. A purchaser’s lawyers should also commission an environmental search. This will higlight whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be initiated.
five months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Barnet concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Barnet I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Barnet suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage that many years will be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.
My husband and I are planning to purchase a four bedroom housein Barnet with a residential mortgage from a mortgage company. We like our conveyancer in Barnet however our bank advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint from the our bank panel firms or keep our Barnet solicitor and incur the extra legals for one of their panel ones to represent our mortgage company. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The lender home loan issued is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the lender's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had open panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Barnet : 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 your lender.