My husband and I are hoping to purchase a property in Hilsea and are in fact using a Hilsea conveyancing practice. 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. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Hilsea conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal 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 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hilsea lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
The Hilsea conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my purchase in Hilsea have suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a firm on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and my preferred Hilsea lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Hilsea?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Hilsea. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Hilsea differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Hilsea come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Hilsea usually acquire the land, 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 Hilsea or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Hilsea I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hilsea for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
In scouring the internet for the term conveyancing in Hilsea it brings up numerous solicitorsin the vicinity. How do I determine which is the suitable conveyancer for the sale of my house?
The ideal method of finding the right conveyancer is through a personal testimonial, so seek the opinion of colleagues and relatives who have acquired a property in Hilsea or a reputable estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Hilsea differ, so it's advisable to obtain at least four fee calculations from different conveyancers. Make sure that you know that the fees are fixed.