My partner and I are hoping to buy a home in Bridlington and have appointed a Bridlington conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Chelsea Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Bridlington solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers 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 mortgage company 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 Bridlington solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
We are a couple about to sign contracts for a freehold house in Bridlington. We have hit a snag. Our loan offer with The Mortgage Works expires on 7/4/2025 but the sellers are insisting on a completion date of 9/4/2025. Can one prolong the mortgage offer?
The best person to deal with your issue is your conveyancer who should determine whether they better off negotiating with the bank, owner’s lawyers, selling agents or indeed all parties taking into account what has happend in your conveyancing as of today.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in Bridlington. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down the deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are 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 solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Bridlington involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
I decided to have a survey done on a property in Bridlington in advance of appointing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Bridlington. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Bridlington to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I am using a search engine for the words conveyancing in Bridlington it brings up many property lawyerslocally. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right conveyancer for purchase transaction?
The best way of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a trusted referral, so enquire of friends and those you trust who have purchased a property in Bridlington or the local estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in Bridlington differ, so it's sensible to secure a minimum of three fee calculations from different law firms. Make sure that you clarify what costs in the quote includes.
Our conveyancer in Bridlington has discovered a a problem with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Bridlington. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor has advised that as he is on the bank conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. A precondition to being on the bank approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.