My fiance and I are hoping to buy a property in Colerne and are in fact using a Colerne conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barnsley Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Colerne solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers 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 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 Colerne solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my property in Colerne. Conveyancing solicitors have now been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate the title deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be with the lender or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Colerne relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Colerne what would it be?
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the cheapest Colerne conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in advance.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with RBS. I assume I don't need a Colerne conveyancer on the RBS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your RBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the RBS mortgage from the register. RBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Barclays have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a flat in Colerne has been agreed to, now what?
Your property agent will want to be advised as to your conveyancer's details (make sure the property lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Contact Barclays or your financial adviser and finalise any outstanding documentation. Barclays will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or owners to arrange an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days to get a mortgage offer. Barclays will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Colerne.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Colerne prior to retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks tend not grant a mortgage on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Colerne. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Colerne to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial premises in Colerne and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to provides security of tenure to commercial tenants, granting the legal entitlement to apply to court for a new tenancy and continue in occupation at the end of the lease term. There are limited grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Colerne is one of the many locations in which our lawyers are based
What type of property do your Colerne conveyancing estimates relate to?
The quotes provided are only relevant to standard domestic property in England & Wales. If you have any different requirements for example industrial or agricultural land or commercial conveyancing in Colerne do telephone us to consider your requirements .