It is a dozen years since I bought my home in Belgravia. Conveyancing solicitors have just been appointed on the sale but I can't track down the deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your mortgage company or they could stored with the solicitor who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Belgravia relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
My property lawyer in Belgravia has never been on on the Barnsley Building Society Approved Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Barnsley Building Society panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Belgravia lawyers but Barnsley Building Society will need to use a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional overall legal fees as well as cause frustration.
- Find an alternative lawyer to to deal with the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are Barnsley Building Society approved.
- Try to convince your Barnsley Building Society solicitor to try to join the Barnsley Building Society panel
The mortgage over my property is with Co-operative for my property in Belgravia. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Co-operative?
Your original mortgage agreement with Co-operative will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Co-operative’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Co-operative will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Co-operative directly. You need not do this via a Co-operative conveyancing panel firm.
It is unclear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Belgravia bank branch on numerous occasions and was informed it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My Belgravia conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their published requirements. I have no idea who is right.
Provided that the solicitor is on the mortgage company approved list, they must comply with the CML Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Belgravia. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £225. Not long after, the lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Co-operative panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
What will a local search inform me concerning the property we're purchasing in Belgravia?
Belgravia conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for example PSG The local search is essential in every Belgravia conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic sections.
I have recentlybeen informed that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Belgravia for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I check that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Belgravia conveyancing specialists.
My husband and I are novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the agent has warned us that the seller will only proceed if we instruct the agent's preferred lawyers as they want a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a family conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Belgravia
We suspect that the owner is unaware of this demand. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine purchaser is counter productive. Avoid the agents and go straight to the sellers and make the point that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are ready to progress, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to appoint your preferred Belgravia conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothose that will provide the negotiator at the agency a referral fee or achieve conveyancing targets pre-set by senior management.