We are hoping to purchase a 2 bedroom apartment in South Woodford with a mortgage. We like our South Woodford lawyer, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our South Woodford lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This feels very unfair; can we not insist that the mortgage company use our South Woodford conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 South Woodford conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
It is a dozen years since I bought my home in South Woodford. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I am unable to find my title deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be recorded 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. Most conveyancing in South Woodford involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
I am helping my niece sell her flat in South Woodford. Will the conveyancing solicitor arrange the energy performance certificate or should I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Packs, energy performance certificates became a mandatory part of moving property. An energy assessment must be commissioned in advance of the property being advertised. It is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers ordinarily organise. If you are instructing a South Woodford conveyancing lawyer they might be able to arrange EPC’s due to their relationships with long established South Woodford energy assessors
Is there a list of Leeds Building Society panel conveyancers in South Woodford on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of lending institutions make their panel listings viewable online. If you are in need of a South Woodford solicitor on the Leeds Building Society please use our facility.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in South Woodford. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Not long after, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the TSB 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 TSB 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.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in South Woodford and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street South Woodford conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a web based conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in South Woodford. Having lived in South Woodford for six years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
How does conveyancing in South Woodford differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in South Woodford approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because new home sellers in South Woodford usually buy 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 property lawyers 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 South Woodford or who has acted in the same development.
Taking into account that I am about to spend £400,000 on a terraced house in South Woodford I would like to have a conversation with the conveyancer regarding thehome move ahead of appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?
Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor due to be doing your conveyancing in South Woodford.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a matter reference. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for residential conveyancing in South Woodford should be the figure that you are charged.