Me and my fiance are purchasing a 1 bedroom flat in Brighton with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Brighton lawyer, however the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to select one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or keep our Brighton solicitor and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
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. Another option that might be available is for your Brighton conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My flat in Brighton is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will the solicitor need to be required to be on the Principality conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Principality conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently currently.
Should our lawyer be raising enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Brighton.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors conducting conveyancing in Brighton. Plenty of people will buy a house in Brighton, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that can be carried out by the buyer or by their solicitors which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Brighton. The standard property information forms sent to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the vendor to find out if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the property has been flooded in past and is not notified by the seller, then a buyer could commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading response. A buyer’s conveyancers will also carry out an environmental search. This should reveal whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations should be conducted.
four months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Brighton concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Brighton differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Brighton approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because developers in Brighton usually acquire the real estate, 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 Brighton or who has acted in the same development.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Brighton is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Brighton are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Brighton you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Brighton may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.