My husband and I are looking to acquire a home in Knighton and are in fact using a Knighton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. National Westminster Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Knighton solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Knighton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My uncle informed me that in purchasing a property in Knighton there could be a number of restrictions prohibiting external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Knighton which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Knighton should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Bank of Ireland. Knighton conveyancing practitioners have been appointed. How long does it take for Bank of Ireland to forward the offer to the conveyancer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Bank of Ireland completed the survey? Have you advised Bank of Ireland as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Knighton. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. TSB have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is TSB your lawyer must comply with the formal requirements set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for TSB. The CML Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to TSB where a lease does not meet these conditions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not limited to Knighton.
Should our solicitor be raising enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Knighton.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Knighton. Plenty of people will purchase a property in Knighton, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Knighton. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a standard inquiry of the seller to determine if the property has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser could bring a compensation claim resulting from an inaccurate answer. The buyer’s solicitors should also carry out an environmental report. This will disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be initiated.
How does conveyancing in Knighton differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Knighton come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Knighton tend to 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 property lawyers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Knighton or who has acted in the same development.
My husband and I are new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, yet the agent informed us that the owners will only go ahead if we use the agent's chosen lawyers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Knighton
It is highly unlikely the sellers are driving this. Should the seller want ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated purchaser is likely to cause more damage than good. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you are going to appoint your own,trusted Knighton conveyancing firm - rather thanthe ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a kickback or hit his conveyancing targets set by senior management.
Do online conveyancing companies undertake everything a local Knighton solicitor does or do I still need to employ a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in Knighton?
If you use an online conveyancer they will cover all the things your Knighton solicitor would cover.