My wife and I are looking to purchase a property in Old Colwyn and have instructed a Old Colwyn conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Ireland have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Old Colwyn solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional 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 solicitor 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Old Colwyn solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My grandfather passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Old Colwyn. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
If you plan to refinance then Santander will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Santander conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Santander conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Santander mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Old Colwyn. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Coventry Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking Coventry Building Society to clarify?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Old Colwyn and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Old Colwyn is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Old Colwyn are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Old Colwyn you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Old Colwyn may decide 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.
Taking into account that I am about to part with hundreds of thousands of pounds on a two bedroom apartment in Old Colwyn I would like to talk to a lawyer concerning thehouse move prior to instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
Absolutely - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the conveyancer due to be conducting your conveyancing in Old Colwyn.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique individual, not a case reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in Old Colwyn should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.
My husband and I are 18 days into a residential purchase having been referred to a firm by the high street agent to carry out the conveyancing in Old Colwyn. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
They would need to be very bad to suggest diss instructing them. Has the mortgage been issued? In the event that it has you will need to advise them of the new contact details and get the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your new solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid added fees and frustration. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. The search tool should assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Old Colwyn