The sellers of the house we are purchasing hired a conveyancing firm in Freshwater who has insisted on a preliminary contract with a deposit of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?
Lock out agreements are agreements between a home vendor and prospective acquirer granting the buyer the sole right to the sale of the property within an agreed time frame. Essentially, a lock out is a document specifying that you will be issued with a contract at a later time which is the contract for the actual sale. It is generally utilised for buyer assurance though in many situations, the proprietor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are many positives and negatives to using an agreement but you need to check with your lawyer but beware that it may result in costing you extra in conveyancing charges. In light of this these contracts are rare in relation to conveyancing in Freshwater.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Freshwater? Why is this being asked of me?
It is indeed that case that the requirement set out by your lawyer has nothing to do with conveyancing in Freshwater. Nowadays you will not be able to complete any conveyancing process in the absence providing evidence of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence plus a utility bill. Please note that if you are supplying your driving licence as evidence of identification it must be both the paper part as well as the photo card part, one is not satisfactory without the other.
Evidence of the source of money is mandated in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. Please do not be offended when you are asked to produce this as your lawyer must retain this information on file. Your Freshwater conveyancing practitioner will require evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any monies from you into their client account and they will also ask additional queries concerning the source of funds.
We previously selected conveyancing lawyers locally in Freshwater on the TSB solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further fee for dealing with the TSB mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by TSB?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by TSB but by your Freshwater solicitor. Numerous firms on the TSB panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I'm in the process of viewing houses in Freshwater and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have my conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with Principality.
It would be sensible to commence your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Principality, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel.
I have instructed a Freshwater solicitor having checked that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander 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. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Freshwater postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Santander, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Freshwater.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Freshwater before retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders may not give a loan on such a house.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Freshwater. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Freshwater especially if they are familiar with such properties in Freshwater.
I'm remortgaging my primary house to a BTL loan with Norwich and Peterborough Building Society and I will use the rest of the raised equity as a down payment on another house. The area we are interested in is Freshwater. Will your solicitors be able to act for the two lenders and link together the two deals?
Do use our search tool on this page to ensure that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panels. Having checked that they are your lawyer should be able to tie up the two transactions but you should talk with you solicitor and specify your expectations and requirements.
Is it true that a Freshwater conveyancing firm taken to court by clients for not carrying out the appropriate conveyancing searches?
Our attention has not be brought to such a Freshwater conveyancing matter but according to a recent report, a couple purchasing a house elsewhere in England successfully won a claim against their conveyancer due to development plans to construct a wind farm not being identified in conveyancing searches.
Where you are purchasing in Freshwater It is critical that your lawyer conduct all Freshwater conveyancing searches needed making sure that you have accurate and up to date information ahead of buying a property.