My wife and I are hoping to buy a flat in Easingwold and have instructed a Easingwold conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Bank of Ireland have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Easingwold lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 solicitor should contact your lender 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Easingwold lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
IfI was to purchase a straightforward homein Easingwold for cash and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much would I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Easingwold?
Any savings you would gain will be isolated to the Easingwold conveyancing searches. A solicitor is obliged to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, liaising with the sellers lawyer, SDLT submission, register the title etc. A marginal saving might be made by not having to register a mortgage however it won't be meaningful.
What is the best way to find out if the solicitor carrying out my conveyancing in Easingwold is on the bank’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for HSBC Bank thus paying £192.00 in additional conveyancing fees.
Feel free to make the most of the search tool on this web page. Please choose the mortgage company and type ‘Easingwold’ or your location and you will discover a number of lawyer located in Easingwold or by proximity to you.
I happen to be the only beneficiary of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Easingwold. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in December. I plan to dispose of the property. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the house in December. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be affected by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the lender as this clause chiefly exists to capture subsales or the quick reselling of properties.
The mortgage over my property is with Bank of Ireland for my property in Easingwold. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Bank of Ireland?
Bank of Ireland must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Bank of Ireland’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Bank of Ireland directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Easingwold. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
Should our conveyancer be making enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Easingwold.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Easingwold. There are those who buy a house in Easingwold, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Easingwold. The standard property information forms sent to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the vendor to find out if the premises has ever been flooded. If the premises has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer may issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading answer. A buyer’s conveyancers should also commission an environmental report. This will reveal whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be conducted.
I have a semi-detached Edwardian house in Easingwold. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking Norwich and Peterborough Building Society to clarify?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Easingwold and other locations in 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 enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.