My fiance and I are hoping to buy a property in Hornsey and have appointed a Hornsey conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Nottingham Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Hornsey solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Hornsey solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Hornsey?
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Hornsey and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for friction between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. For instance, the vendor, selling agent and sometimes the lender. Selecting a solicitor for your conveyancing in Hornsey is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the transaction whose role it is to act in your best interests and to keep you safe.
Sometimes a potential adversary may attempt to persuade you that it is in your interests to do things their way. As an example, the selling agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your lawyer is dragging his heels. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do something that is contrary to your conveyancers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.
We're in Hornsey, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Yorkshire BS , and our solicitor is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
This question may be naive but I am new to the home buying as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Hornsey. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Hornsey?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Hornsey. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be invited to receive the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.
We expect to receive a OIP from Lloyds this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Lloyds recommend any Hornsey solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Hornsey solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Lloyds through the process.
I have paid off my mortgage with Santander. I assume I don't need a Hornsey property lawyer on the Santander panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Santander mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Santander mortgage from the register. Santander, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Santander has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Santander has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I need some expedited conveyancing in Hornsey as I am under pressure to exchange contracts in less than 2 weeks. Luckily I do not require a mortgage. Can I decline from having conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
As you are are a cash buyer you have the choice not to do searches although no solicitor would recommend that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Hornsey the following are examples of what can show up and therefore affect market value: Enforcement Notices, Overdue Charges, Overdue Grants, Unadopted Roads,...
I am contemplating appointing an online solicitor ahead of a Hornsey conveyancing practice. Any advice?
There are advantages of being able to pop in to a local Hornsey conveyancing solicitor such as
- signing papers and and when necessary
- having one on one explanations of matters that you need help with
- the ability to complain if things need to addressed
When checking fees, look out for hidden extras. Most decent Hornsey high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Often online companies seem to offer cheap fees, yet have burried 'extras' in the fine print.