My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a home in Gospel Oak and are in fact using a Gospel Oak conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Santander have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Gospel Oak lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Gospel Oak solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
AssumingI were to purchase a simple residential propertyin Gospel Oak mortgage fee and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much should I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Gospel Oak?
The only saving you would achieve is the costs for searches. Your solicitor is required to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, liaising with the vendors solicitor, SDLT return, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a mortgage however it will not be a lot.
We are buying a detached bungalow in Gospel Oak. Our aim is to convert the garage to a playroom at the property.Will legal due diligence on the property include investigations to determine if these alterations are allowed?
Your solicitor should review the deeds as conveyancing in Gospel Oak can on occasion reveal restrictions in the title deeds which restrict certain works or necessitated the permission of a 3rd party. Some additions call for local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. It would be wise to check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Kent Reliance, do Gospel Oak property lawyers have to pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any lender fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Gospel Oak. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I purchased a terraced Victorian property in Gospel Oak. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Halifax. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Gospel Oak and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I am a sole trader planning to take over a lease of an office on the high street. Can you recommend solicitors offering no-sale-no charges for non-domestic conveyancing in Gospel Oak for less than £2000?
We can recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Gospel Oak, including the sale and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. If you are looking to buy or lease a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we can find you the right lawyer. As for the costs these will vary based on the structure and complexity of the deal. Please provide us with your contact information or phone us so that we may provide you with a fixed commercial conveyancing calculation.
My solicitors in Gospel Oak have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with the mortgage company. Is it case that being on the lender conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?
It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the lender Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the bank directly.