My partner and I are looking to buy a home in Preston Park and have appointed a Preston Park conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Skipton Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Preston Park lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Preston Park solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is is a decade since I purchased my house in Preston Park. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I can't find my deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be retained by your lender or they could still be with the lawyers who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Preston Park relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
I just bought a house at auction in Preston Park. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?
Having exchanged you must instruct a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of urgency as you now have a fast approaching deadline in which to complete the deal. Every auction property should have an associated auction set of papers. This will likely include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold property the conveyancing papers may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork specific to leasehold premises. You need to hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that you have funds in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Bank of Ireland. Preston Park conveyancing solicitors were chosen. How long does it take for Bank of Ireland to send the offer to the property lawyer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Bank of Ireland completed the valuation? Have you advised Bank of Ireland as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Preston Park off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Clydesdale. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have 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 Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of hinderance in Preston Park conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Preston Park.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Preston Park is the location of the property. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Preston Park are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Preston Park you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Preston Park 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.
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Preston Park. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Preston Park - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Preston Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying
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You should want to find out as much as possible regarding the company managing the block as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Ask other tenants if they are happy with them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the service costs or necessitate a one off invoice.