Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Goodmayes. Is there a reason why all Goodmayes property lawyers are not on all bank panels?
Banks ordinarily restrict either the nature or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such criteria being that a practice is required to have at least two partners. In addition to restricting the nature of firm, some lenders made a decision to restrict the size of their panel they permit to act for them. You should note that lenders have no liability for the standard of service given by any Goodmayes solicitor on their panel. Increases in mortgage fraud was the main trigger for the culling of solicitor panels from 2008 even though there are opposing views about whether solicitors sat at the center of that fraud. Statistics via HMLR indicates that thousands of law practices only carry out less than three conveyances a year. Those vindicating conveyancing panel pruning question why conveyancing firms should have claim to remain on a conveyancing panel when clearly property law is not their primary expertise?
My wife and I swapping mortgage lender for our flat in Goodmayes with TSB. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the TSB conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your TSB conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to TSB. This is solely used to protect TSB if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of TSB had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
How can we tell if a Goodmayes conveyancing solicitor on the Clydesdale panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Goodmayes seeking recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always suggest that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Goodmayes. My mortgage broker suggested a property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Soon after, the conveyancing practitioner called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Our sealed bid on a semi in Goodmayes has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have put an offer on somewhere, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Goodmayes. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Skipton?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Goodmayes conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to check that your solicitor is on the Skipton conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent steps this very much dictated by the circumstances of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Skipton and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their conveyancing practitioner to press on with searches.
We are planning on selling our home in Goodmayes and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Goodmayes. Having lived in Goodmayes for six years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
How does conveyancing in Goodmayes differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Goodmayes approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Goodmayes typically acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Goodmayes or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Goodmayes prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks tend not give a mortgage on a flying freehold house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Goodmayes. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Goodmayes especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Goodmayes.