My partner and I are looking to buy a property in Deeside and have instructed a Deeside conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Deeside conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors 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 property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Deeside lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am planning to move home in October. Should my conveyancing solicitor update the removal company on the day of completion. As an aside, can you recommend a removal company in Deeside. Conveyancing firm was organised prior to coming across this site.
On the day of completion you can collect the keys from the estate agent however this should only take place once the sellers solicitors confirm to the agent that the monies to complete are in and the keys can be passed over. You should advise the removal company that you are ready to move in. We do not recommend a specific removal organisation but can help you find a conveyancing in Deeside or a solicitor that specialises in conveyancing in Deeside.
I have paid off my mortgage with Clydesdale. I assume I don't need a Deeside conveyancing practitioner on the Clydesdale panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale mortgage from the register. Clydesdale, 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 Clydesdale has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Clydesdale has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Skipton. Is it usual for Skipton to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Deeside is approved on their conveyancing panel? Skipton have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Skipton to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal impending roadworks that may affect a commercial estate in Deeside?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Deeside will order a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers invest in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Deeside. The report provides definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Deeside.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Deeside it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can result in delays to Deeside commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Deeside.
The deeds to our property can not be found. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Deeside 10 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
You no longer need to have the physical official documentation to prove you are the registered proprietor of land or premises, given that the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Deeside for my home move. Can I check a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
You can find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor telephone calls for training reasons.
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Deeside where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Deeside conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Deeside, conveyancing was carried out 4 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Deeside with over 90 years remaining are worth £192,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2074
You have 54 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.