My partner and I are looking to purchase a property in Clapton and have instructed a Clapton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours 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 there is now an issue as our Clapton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 solicitor 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 Clapton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My stepmother pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Clapton there could be various restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Clapton which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Clapton should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Aldermore have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a property in Clapton has been agreed to, what happens next?
The estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (be sure the lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Call up Aldermore or the financial adviser and finish off any outstanding paperwork. Aldermore will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Aldermore will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Clapton.
I have finally had an offer on an apartment in Clapton agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have placed an offer on a property, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments booked. I have chosen a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Clapton. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Nationwide?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Clapton conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your lawyer is on the Nationwide approved list. Regarding the subsequent steps this very much depends on the specifics of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market the majority of buyers will apply for a home loan with Nationwide and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their property lawyer to move forward with searches.
Will our solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Clapton.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors carrying out conveyancing in Clapton. There are those who buy a property in Clapton, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that may be carried out by the purchaser or by their lawyers which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Clapton. The conventional set of information sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the seller to find out if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate response. A purchaser’s conveyancers will also conduct an environmental search. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be carried out.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Clapton?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Clapton. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Clapton I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Clapton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
Taking into account that I am about to part with over three hundred thousand on 3 bedroom house in Clapton I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer concerning theconveyancing before appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?
Absolutely - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the lawyer who will be conducting your conveyancing in Clapton.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a matter number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in Clapton should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.