My wife and I are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Ramsey with a mortgage. We have a Ramsey lawyer, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or retain our Ramsey conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to require that the lender use our Ramsey property lawyer ?
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 Ramsey conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I require conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (seven years old) in Ramsey. 95% of the appartments have already been disposed of. Is it really necessary to order local searches as part of conveyancing in Ramsey?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a loan, your mortgage company will need some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Ramsey conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should have the searches done, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or you will need to switch to an alternative solicitor for your conveyancing in Ramsey.
My husband and I have arranged a further advance on our mortgage from Co-operative as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our home in Ramsey. Are we obliged to select a local Ramsey solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Co-operative would not normally require firms on their conveyancing panel 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.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Ramsey. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Ramsey. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £225. Soon after, the property lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Should our conveyancer be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Ramsey.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Ramsey. Some people will buy a house in Ramsey, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Ramsey. The conventional set of information given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the owner to discover whether the property has ever been flooded. If the premises has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer may commence a claim for damages stemming from an inaccurate reply. The buyer’s solicitors may also carry out an enviro search. This should reveal whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be conducted.
How does conveyancing in Ramsey differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Ramsey come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Ramsey usually 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 used to new build conveyancing in Ramsey or who has acted in the same development.
I have been sourcing a conveyancing lawyer in Ramsey for my house move. Is there any facility to review a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
One can see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor call for training reasons.