My wife and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Eye with a mortgage. We like our Eye lawyer, however the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Eye property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Eye conveyancer ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Eye conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My partner and I have lately purchased a property in Eye. We have noticed several problems with the property which we believe were missed in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? What searches should? have been ordered for conveyancing in Eye?
The question is not clear as what problems have arisen and if they are specific to conveyancing in Eye. Conveyancing searches and investigations undertaken as part of the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a seller fills in a form known as a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers provided is incorrect, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Eye.
I am purchasing a garden flat in Eye. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Eye you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Eye.
This question may be naive but I am new to the process as a first time buyer of a garden flat in Eye. Do I receive the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Eye?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you should be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Skipton. I assume I don't need a Eye conveyancing practitioner on the Skipton panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Skipton 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 Skipton mortgage from the register. Skipton, 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 Skipton has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Skipton has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Eye solicitor - who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds 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 Eye 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.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years past for my conveyancing in Eye. I now require my papers however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Eye of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
We are 14 days into a freehold purchase having been directed to solicitors by the high street agent to handle our conveyancing in Eye. We are not happy. Can you help me find new conveyancers?
A solicitor would need to be really poor in order to consider replacing them. Has the mortgage been sent? In the event that it has you must inform them of the new contact details and ensure the mortgage documents are re-sent. The conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company panel to avoid escalating costs and frustration. So that should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Eye