The property market in Dartford is hotting up. What can I do to expedite matters?
In a situation where the seller is applying time constraints for your conveyancing it is highly recommended that your conveyancer is familiar with the location as they will have local relationships and know-how. It is even conceivable that they would have transacted otherhouses in the same neighbourhood. Therefore consider using a Dartford conveyancing lawyer. In addition, make sure that the lawyer is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is said that just under twenty per cent of Dartford conveyancing transactions are suspended or derailed after finding out that a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the buying process being delayed by an average of three weeks. It is estimated that this issue impacts approximately 100,000 home sales every year. Most Dartford conveyancing firms can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check as early as possible.
It is 10 years ago since I purchased my property in Dartford. Conveyancing solicitors have just been instructed on the sale but I can't track down the title deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Dartford relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
My apartment in Dartford is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will the conveyancer need to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the HSBC 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 panel criteria fairly frequently in recent years.
Is it the case that all Dartford CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the TSB conveyancing panel?
It is true that some banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
When it comes to lenders such as Skipton, do Dartford conveyancing practitioners face a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Dartford. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of stalling in Dartford house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Dartford.
It has been 4 months since my purchase conveyancing in Dartford completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. 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 residence 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.