I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette in Salcombe and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Salcombe ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my house in Salcombe. Conveyancing solicitors have now been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find the deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who acted in your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Salcombe involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in Salcombe 4 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be documented by HMLR under a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and secure up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for £20 inclusive of VAT.
How does conveyancing in Salcombe differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Salcombe contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Salcombe tend to acquire the site, 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 Salcombe or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Salcombe before appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not grant a loan on a flying freehold house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Salcombe. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Salcombe especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Salcombe.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for sale conveyancing in Salcombe. I've land on a web site which seems to have the ideal answer If it is possible to get all formalities done via web that would be preferable. Do I need to 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?