My fiance and I are planning to buy a flat in Billericay and are in fact using a Billericay conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Billericay solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Billericay solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
The Billericay conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Billericay have without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a lawyer on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and my previous Billericay lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to assist.
Is it the case that all Billericay solicitors on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. The majority of banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the CLC.
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Nationwide. Is it usual for Nationwide to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Billericay is approved on their conveyancing panel? Nationwide have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nationwide to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Principality have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a property in Billericay has been accepted, what are the next steps?
Your estate agent will need to know who your solicitors are (be sure the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Telephone Principality or the broker and finish off any outstanding paperwork. Principality will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to arrange a time for the valuation to happen. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Principality will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Billericay.
What will a local search reveal concerning the house my wife and I purchasing in Billericay?
Billericay conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for example PSG The local search plays a central part in most Billericay conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your property. The search should provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (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 thirteen topic areas.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years past for my conveyancing in Billericay. Now, I need my documents but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Billericay of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £325,000 maisonette in Billericay next Thursday. The management company has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Billericay?
For most leasehold sales in Billericay conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
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Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
Where consent is required before sale in Billericay
Supplying insurance information
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I invested in buying a studio flat in Billericay, conveyancing formalities finalised June 2001. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Billericay with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2089
You have 68 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.