My wife and I are planning to acquire a home in Lynmouth and are in fact using a Lynmouth conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Skipton Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Lynmouth solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance 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 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 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 Lynmouth solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Having invested time looking at mumsnet.com for a cheap solicitor in Lynmouth, most advise that I should look for a CQS kitemarked lawyer. Can you explain what CQS is?
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a kitemark for residential conveyancing practices issued by the Law Society. Membership achievement establishes a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders (regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon: * the integrity of the senior responsible officer and other key conveyancing staff * the firm's adherence to good practice management standards * compliance with best practice conveyancing procedures via the scheme protocol It includes many partnerships who execute conveyancing in Lynmouth.
We are purchasing a house in Lynmouth. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to send funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
A friend informed me that in buying a property in Lynmouth there could be various restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to the property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Lynmouth which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Lynmouth should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Lynmouth. I have a mortgage offer with Co-operative. Conveyancing is new to me. 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 Co-operative, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.
Should I be wary about 3rd parties that I am dealing with are recommending a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Lynmouth conveyancing company?
As with lots of service providers, often suggestions from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are lots of players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and banks may recommend solicitors to select. Sometimes the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there exists a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of law firms you have to use for the mortgage related work in your conveyancing.
I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Lynmouth. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?
Notwithstanding that your previous Lynmouth conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.
I own a leasehold flat in Lynmouth, conveyancing was carried out in 2001. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Lynmouth with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2087
With 65 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
Why am I unable to complete our conveyancing in Lynmouth on Easter Monday?
Because on completion the funds needs to pass between the banks of the buyer and owner’s solicitor and at present this can only take place on a working day. So you can't complete on a saturday or sunday either.