My partner and I are planning to purchase a house in Dorchester and have appointed a Dorchester conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Halifax have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Dorchester conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Dorchester solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Some advice if I may. My Dorchester conveyancer is informing me me that he has toconduct Dorchester conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Nat Westconveyancing panel. Do I not have any options here?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a lender your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your property lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Dorchester conveyancing searches.
We are planning to move house in July. Will my conveyancing solicitor update the removal company on the completion day. Incidentally, can you recommend a removal company in Dorchester. Conveyancing lawyer was chosen before I stumbled across this site.
On the day of completion you will need to pick up the keys from the property agent however this can only occur after the previous owners conveyancers inform the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be released. You will need to advise the removal company that they can start moving you in. As a matter of policy we do not suggest a specific removal company but can help you locate a residential property solicitor in Dorchester or a firm with expertise in conveyancing in Dorchester.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Dorchester. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Virgin Money have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Virgin Money your lawyer must check the formal requirements contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Virgin Money. The CML Handbook contains minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Virgin Money where a lease does not meet these conditions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Dorchester.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Dorchester property lawyer having made sure that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Dorchester surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Me and my brother purchased a terraced Georgian property in Dorchester. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Nationwide Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Dorchester and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Dorchester I like with a park and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Dorchester in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandmother I am selling a property in Newport but reside in Dorchester. My lawyer (based 260 kilometers from merequires that I sign a statutory declaration prior to completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Dorchester to witness and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Dorchester based