Me and my partner are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Norwich with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Norwich lawyer, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to select one of the lender panel firms or keep our Norwich property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to insist that the mortgage company use our Norwich conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Norwich conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My wife and I are refinancing our apartment in Norwich with Santander. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Santander conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Santander had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Norwich?
If you are buying a property in Norwich your solicitor will request that you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Generally this is needed to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. If any down payment is payable against the total price then this will be needed immediately ahead of exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is due should be transferred shortly before completion.
How does conveyancing in Norwich differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Norwich contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because house builders in Norwich typically buy the real estate, 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 Norwich or who has acted in the same development.
I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Norwich. I've discover a web site which looks to be the perfect solution If there is a chance to get all this stuff completed via web that would be preferable. Should I be wary? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
What type of property do your Norwich conveyancing estimates relate to?
Our conveyancing quotes are only applicable to standard domestic premises in England & Wales. Where you have any different needs such as industrial or agricultural land or commercial conveyancing in Norwich you should telephone us to address this further .