My fiance and I are looking to buy a property in Beckermet and have appointed a Beckermet conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. The Mortgage Works have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Beckermet conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 solicitor should contact your bank 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Beckermet solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Some advice if I may. My Beckermet lawyer is advising me that he is legally obliged toapply for Beckermet conveyancing searches stemming from the fact thatthe firm are on the Nat Westsolicitor panel. Is this really necessary?
You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a bank your conveyancer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your solicitor would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Beckermet conveyancing searches.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Beckermet last August yet the purchaser is texting daily to say their solicitor needs to hear from mysolicitor. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
Following your sale your solicitor is committed to send the transfer deeds and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. Where appropriate, your conveyancer must also evidence that the home loan has been paid off to the buyers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures peculiar conveyancing in Beckermet.
How does conveyancing in Beckermet differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Beckermet approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because house builders in Beckermet typically acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Beckermet or who has acted in the same development.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Beckermet from the point of view of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Beckermet can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ representatives. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Beckermet conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. A minority of Beckermet leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
Beckermet Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying
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The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Please tell me if there are any major works in the planning that will increase the maintenance charges? Does this lease have in excess of 85 years remaining?
What is the reason for my lawyer requiring various items of ID ahead of starting my conveyancing in Beckermet?
Beckermet conveyancing practitioners are obliged by the Law Society, Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Land Registry and current AML Regulations to certify that the have verified the identity of their clients. It is also sometimes a requirement of your mortgage offer. Furthermore they have to complete various forms, particularly those relating to SDLT and need to have details such as your full names, NI number and DOB.