My wife and I are planning to purchase a property in Derby and have instructed a Derby conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Derby lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 Accreditation 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Derby lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is a dozen years since I bought my house in Derby. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I can't track down my deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Derby involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
Is there a search tool that I can use to find out if the solicitor conducting my conveyancing in Derby is on the mortgage lender’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for TSB thus paying £187.00 plus VAT in supplemental conveyancing bill.
Please do take advantage of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this site. Pick the mortgage company and type ‘Derby’ or your location and you will see a number of lawyer offices in Derby or nearest you.
three months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Derby concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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.
In surfing the world wide web for the term cheap conveyancing in Derby it reveals many property lawyersin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right property lawyer for purchase transaction?
The preferential way of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a personal recommendation, so ask friends and those you trust who have purchased a property in Derby or the reputable estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in Derby differ, so it's sensible to secure at least four estimates from varying types of solicitors. Be sure to secure confirmation that the fees are fixed.
Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Derby. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Derby who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Derby conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Derby - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing
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Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? The answer will be important as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have all the details How many years are left on the lease?