I am purchasing a property for cash in Mitcham. I have lived for the previous 15 years in Mitcham. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I know the road and vicinity intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a home loan, then the vast majority of the Mitcham conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your solicitor will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he is duty bound to do this. One thing to consider; if you are likely to dispose of the house at a future date, it may be of relevance to your prospective purchaser what the searches contain. Sometimes premises with day to day issues can still throw up unpredicted search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Mitcham should be able to give you some constructive guidance here.
I'm the sole beneficiary of my late mum's will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Mitcham. The Mitcham property was put into my name in March. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership will be considered the same way as if I'd bought the house in March. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be caught by that. many banks would take a pragmatic view as this obligation chiefly exists to identify subsales or the quick reselling of property.
Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Mitcham solicitor - who is on the Santander conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Mitcham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Santander, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Mitcham.
HSBC have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in Mitcham has been agreed to, now what?
Your property agent will want to be informed of your conveyancer's details (ensure that the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Call up HSBC or the financial adviser and finish off any relevant forms. HSBC will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to get a mortgage offer. HSBC will send the offer to you and your lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Mitcham.
I have todaybeen informed that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Mitcham for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest method to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Mitcham conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Mitcham differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Mitcham approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Mitcham usually acquire the site, 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 conveyancers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Mitcham or who has acted in the same development.
Are there any apps to help identify a Mitcham law firm on the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this page. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of Mitcham conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Mitcham conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can contact them to check if they are on the National Westminster Bank member panel
Should I choose a Mitcham conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can deal with the conveyancing but his firm is located a couple of hundredkilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Mitcham conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were happy that must surpass using an unknown Mitcham conveyancing lawyer just because they are Mitcham based.