My husband and I are looking to purchase a flat in Calcot and have appointed a Calcot conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Accord Mortgages Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Calcot solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional 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 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Calcot lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Calcot is more expensive?
Calcot leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
Is there a search tool that I can use to check that the solicitor handling my conveyancing in Calcot is on the lender’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Norwich and Peterborough Building Society thus paying £192.00 in supplemental conveyancing fees.
Feel free to take advantage of the find a lender approved solicitor tool on this site. Please choose the lender and type ‘Calcot’ or your preferred area and you will discover a number of lawyer offices in Calcot or near you.
I know that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to have this when acquiring a house in Calcot? or I am told that there is historic law that means some homeowners living in a parish church boundary will be compelled to contribute towards maintenance to the chancel in proximity to the church. Is this appropriate for conveyancing in Calcot?
Unless a prior purchase of the property took place after 12 October 2013 you may expect solicitors conducting conveyancing in Calcot to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Calcot conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Calcot conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Calcot conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be useful:
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How many lease extensions have they completed in Calcot in the last year? How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
Leasehold Conveyancing in Calcot - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that will likely increase the service fees? What is the name of the managing agents? Please note if it is fewer than eighty years it will impact the value of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for two years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension.
Should I cancel my mortgage payments with Bank of Ireland as soon as a completion date for my sale in Calcot has been set?
You would be well advised to keep meeting any mortgage payments to Bank of Ireland pending the mortgage being discharged out of the proceeds of sale as part of your Calcot conveyancing.