I plan on buying property in St Annes. My Conveyancer is not on the mortgage company conveyancing list. Is it possible for me to use my St Annes conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the bank panel?
You have a number of choices available to you here
- Carry on with your preferred St Annes property lawyer but your bank will no doubt appoint a solicitor on their approved panel. The net result is additional fees together with potential frustration.
- Get a fresh conveyancing practitioner to conduct the conveyancing, ensuring that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Appeal to your lawyer to seek to join the mortgage company panel
Should my solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in St Annes.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in St Annes. There are those who purchase a house in St Annes, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in St Annes. The conventional set of property information forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard question of the seller to find out if the premises has historically flooded. If the premises has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser could issue a legal claim for losses stemming from an inaccurate response. A buyer’s lawyers will also commission an environmental search. This will higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be carried out.
I own a 4 bedroom Victorian property in St Annes. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Bank of Ireland to clarify?
You should 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in St Annes and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. St Annes is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in St Annes are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in St Annes you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St Annes may determine 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.
Should I go with a St Annes conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal formalities but they are based 300miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street St Annes conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local St Annes know how is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and they were happy that should trump using an unknown St Annes conveyancing solicitor just because they are St Annes based.
I was advised by my bank that their approved solicitors work on no sale no charge basis for conveyancing in St Annes. I had a purchase fall through and now the solicitors want search fees! They are claiming that the fees are seperate!
By promising "no sale no fee" St Annes conveyancing lawyers are waiving their fees for any work done. We must stress this is NOT an insurance scheme. Disbursements aren’t covered – where the solicitor have to pay money out to other people, for example St Annes local search fees