My husband and I are planning to acquire a home in Okehampton and are in fact using a Okehampton conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Accord Mortgages Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Okehampton lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Okehampton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My brother and I have recently acquired a house in Okehampton. We have since encountered a number of issues with the property which we consider were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that needed to have been conducted for conveyancing in Okehampton?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are relate to conveyancing in Okehampton. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated as part of the buying process are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor answers a document known as a SPIF. answers provided is incorrect, you could possibly take legal action against the seller for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Okehampton.
Do lenders provide you with an approved list of Okehampton conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the Santander conveyancing panel?
Okehampton conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Santander directly.
My wife and I are buying a flat in Okehampton. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we have to deposit money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
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.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Co-operative as we wish to carry out alterations to our home in Okehampton. Do we need to appoint a nearby Okehampton solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Co-operative would not normally instruct a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Co-operative panel.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Okehampton bank branch on numerous occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Okehampton conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
The conveyancing practitioner must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two conditions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that could impact a commercial property in Okehampton?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Okehampton will carry out a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Okehampton. The report provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Okehampton.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Okehampton it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately may result in delays to Okehampton commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Okehampton.
I am buying a new build apartment in Okehampton. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Okehampton
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The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.