My partner and I are looking to buy a property in Hook and have appointed a Hook conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Skipton Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hook lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 and you may continue to use your own Hook solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
What is the first thing I need to know concerning purchase conveyancing in Hook?
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Hook or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of opportunity for friction between you and others involved in the transaction. For instance, the vendor, selling agent and on occasion your mortgage company. Choosing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Hook an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the transaction whose responsibility is to look after your legal interests and to protect you.
There is a definite ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone has to be at fault for the process taking so long. You your first instinct should be to trust your solicitor ahead of all other players in the home moving process.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as a 1st time purchaser of a garden flat in Hook. Do I pick up the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Hook?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Hook. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the purchase money to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be able to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Hook. I have a mortgage offer with Coventry BS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use 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 Coventry BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in November 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Leeds Building Society are being problematic. The Hook solicitor who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Leeds Building Society are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Leeds Building Society have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Leeds Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Leeds Building Society may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Hook?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Hook. 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…’
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Hook is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Hook are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Hook you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hook may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
How do I search for a Hook solicitor on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am happy to travel upto 25miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the search on this website. Please choose the mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Hook conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Hook conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to verify if they are on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society approved list