Our solicitor has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Great Coates. The seller’s lawyers have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our property lawyer says that he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
It is a dozen years since I purchased my property in Great Coates. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been appointed on the sale but I can't track down the title deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your lender or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Great Coates relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
I am buying a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Great Coates who is on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Chelsea Building Society in certain locations such as Great Coates. We dont recommend any particular firm.
Will our conveyancer be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Great Coates.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Great Coates. Some people will purchase a property in Great Coates, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Great Coates. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual inquiry of the seller to find out if the property has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the vendor, then a buyer could bring a legal claim for losses stemming from an incorrect answer. A purchaser’s lawyers will also carry out an environmental report. This will disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be conducted.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Great Coates 10 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?
Assuming you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be held by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and get current copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually hold a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I have been sourcing a conveyancing solicitor in Great Coates for my purchase. Is it possible to check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public may search for presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations started on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded call for training reasons.