Me and my fiance are hoping to acquire a 3 bedroom flat in Bexley with a mortgage. We have a Bexley lawyer, however the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or retain our Bexley lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; are we not able to require that the lender use our Bexley property lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: 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. A further alternative is for your Bexley conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I require conveyancing for a flat in a relatively new development (6 years built) in Bexley. The vast majority the appartments have already been sold. Do I need carry out the conveyancing searches as part of conveyancing in Bexley?
Where you are obtaining a mortgage, your bank will need some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Bexley conveyancing searches are for you to decide upon. No doubt your conveyancer, will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Bexley.
As a first time buyer what is the most important advice you can impart regarding purchase conveyancing in Bexley?
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Bexley or throughout South East London is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the vendor, estate agent and even potentially a lender. Appointing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Bexley an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the legal process whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to protect you.
Every so often a third party with a vested interest will attempt to sway you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the selling agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your lawyer is slow. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do take action that is against your conveyancers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are the number one reason for obstruction in Bexley conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Bexley.
I have todayfound out that Action Conveyancing have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Bexley for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest method to check if the property is in your name, 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 Bexley conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Bexley differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Bexley contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because house builders in Bexley typically acquire the land, 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 conveyancers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Bexley or who has acted in the same development.