My wife and I are looking to acquire a flat in Bembridge and have instructed a Bembridge conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Barclays Direct have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Bembridge solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Bembridge lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am purchasing a semi-detached house in Bembridge. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Bembridge you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Bembridge.
The deeds to our house can not be found. The conveyancers who dealt with the conveyancing in Bembridge 5 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?
Assuming you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, find your property and secure current copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for twenty pounds.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Bembridge in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may not issue a loan on a flying freehold premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can look into this further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Bembridge. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Bembridge especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Bembridge.
My father-in-law has encouraged me to use his conveyancers in Bembridge. Should I use them?
There are no two ways about it the ideal way to select a conveyancing solicitor is to get feedback from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the conveyancer that you are considering.
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Bembridge. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Bembridge who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Bembridge conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Bembridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying
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What restrictions are there in the Bembridge Lease? Who are the managing agents? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.