Me and my partner are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Cumberland with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Cumberland lawyer, however the bank advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to use one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Cumberland conveyancer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Cumberland solicitor ?
No, not really. 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. A further alternative is for your Cumberland conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Cumberland? Is this really necessary?
It is indeed that case that the requirement set out by your solicitor has nothing to do with conveyancing in Cumberland. However these days you can not proceed with any conveyancing deal if you have not handing over proof of your identity. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence as well as a utility bill. Please note that if you are providing your driving licence as proof of identification it needs to be both the paper section as well as the photo card part, one is not satisfactory in the absence of the other.
Evidence of your origin of funds is mandated in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. You should not be offended when when this is requested of you as your conveyancer must have this information on record. Your Cumberland conveyancing solicitor will need to see evidence of proof of funds before they are able to accept any monies from you into their client account and they may also ask additional questions regarding the origin of funds.
The deeds to our home are lost. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Cumberland 5 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
Assuming the title is registered the information relating to your proprietorship will be recorded by HMLR under a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, find your house and get up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.
How does conveyancing in Cumberland differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Cumberland come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because house builders in Cumberland usually purchase the land, 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 property lawyers 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 Cumberland or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Cumberland prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some lenders tend refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Cumberland. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Cumberland to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Am I best advised to choose a Cumberland conveyancing practitioner based in the vicinity that I am hoping to buy? An old friend can deal with the legal work but his firm is located 400miles away.
The primary upside of using a local Cumberland conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, deliver your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were content that must outweigh using an unknown Cumberland conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.