My wife and I are hoping to acquire a home in Harold Wood and have appointed a Harold Wood conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. The Mortgage Works have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Harold Wood lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. 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 Harold Wood lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a search tool with a view to to identify firms on the Loughborough BS conveyancing panel for example in Harold Wood?
We have not been informed any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a register.
I have been told by my solicitor that missing deeds insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Harold Wood?
The appropriate level of missing deeds indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and Chelsea Building Society. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
We had selected solicitors located in Harold Wood on the Bank of Ireland solicitor panel. They have just billed me a separate charge for dealing with the Bank of Ireland mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Bank of Ireland?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor may levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Bank of Ireland but by your Harold Wood lawyer. Numerous firms on the Bank of Ireland panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Harold Wood off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Nationwide. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.
The deeds to my property can not be found. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Harold Wood 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
Assuming the title is registered the details of your proprietorship will be held by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is possible to perform a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and secure current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Harold Wood with a mortgage from Barclays . The builders refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not reveal to my lawyer about this deal as it may impact my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Is it possible to switch firm as I need to find a firm on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel. I was using a local conveyancing solicitor in Harold Wood round the corner but he is not approved by Norwich and Peterborough Building Society
It would be our pleasure to help you select a conveyancing solicitor in Harold Wood on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we on the directory do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Harold Wood. In making use of the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this page, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Harold Wood.