My wife and I are planning to buy a property in Hoole and are in fact using a Hoole conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Chelsea Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Hoole lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Hoole solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Is there a list of Santander panel conveyancers in Hoole on the Building Society Association’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of lending institutions make their panel listings viewable on the web. Where you are looking for a Hoole property lawyer on the Santander please use our facility.
My partner and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Clydesdale as we want to conduct a loft conversion to our property in Hoole. Are we obliged to appoint a bricks and mortar Hoole solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Clydesdale do not ordinarily instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Clydesdale list.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Hoole. I have a mortgage offer with Principality. 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 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 Principality, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Hoole with a loan from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not inform my lawyer about this side-deal as it will adversely affect my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Hoole is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Hoole are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Hoole you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hoole 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 premises.
I have been advised by a number of property agents in Hoole to find a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to market your lawyers ahead of another?
We don’t make any financial incentive for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
In my capacity as executor for the estate of my grandfather I am selling a house in Neath but reside in Hoole. My solicitor (based 260 miles awayneeds me to sign a stat dec prior to completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Hoole to attest this legal document for me?
Technically speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are located in Hoole