My wife and I are planning to buy a property in Felling and Pelaw and have appointed a Felling and Pelaw conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Virgin Money have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Felling and Pelaw lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers 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 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Felling and Pelaw lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are acquiring a new build flat in Felling and Pelaw and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and my preference is not to prolong matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
My Solicitor in Felling and Pelaw is not listed on the Santander Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my family solicitor even though they are not on the Santander panel?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Felling and Pelaw solicitors but Santander will need to retain a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall conveyancing charges and cause frustration.
- Get a new lawyer to to deal with the purchase, not forgetting to check they are Persuade your lawyer to use their best endeavours to join the Santander conveyancing panel
What does commercial conveyancing in Felling and Pelaw cover?
Non domestic conveyancing in Felling and Pelaw covers a wide range of guidance, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the transfer of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for freehold conveyancing in Felling and Pelaw. I happened to land on a web site which seems to have the ideal offering If there is a chance to get all this stuff done via phone that would be ideal. Should I be wary? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Felling and Pelaw. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Felling and Pelaw ?
The majority of houses in Felling and Pelaw are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Felling and Pelaw so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Felling and Pelaw conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.