My fiance and I are planning to acquire a flat in Lindfield and are in fact using a Lindfield conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Leeds Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Lindfield conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal 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 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 Lindfield solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
How up to date is your database of Lindfield solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel? Do Aldermore send you an updated list?
Lindfield conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Aldermore directly.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Lindfield?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Lindfield. 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 a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Lindfield is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Lindfield are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Lindfield you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Lindfield may determine 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.
Should I be wary about estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting a web based conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Lindfield conveyancing firm?
As with many professional services, often recommendations from family and friends can be very helpful. Yet there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks may put forward lawyers to choose. Sometimes the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there exists a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to appoint your own conveyancer. You need to be aware that most banks have an approved list of law firms you must use for the mortgage aspect of your transaction.
Being a leasehold owner I am on the hook for a maintenance contribution for my property in Lindfield. As a result of personal circumstances I slipped into arrears with payments. I negotiated a settlement schedule but there is still a couple of currently outstanding.
I now wish to dispose of the property and I am concerned this could hold me back if I have to settle the amount due first. Do I have to settle before - is this viable?
You should check with the property lawyer carrying out your Lindfield conveyancing but it might be possible to arrange for the outstanding amount to be passed to the buyers. The contractual price due would be reduced to reflect the amount of debt they assume. They would then discharge the fees once they are the owners.