Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a online directory to to identify solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel for example in St Helier?
Lexsure has not been advised of any plans on the part of the BSA to develop such a register.
Is it the case that all St Helier solicitor practices on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Leeds Building Society approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be governed by the CLC.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in St Helier. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £200. A couple of days later, the solicitor called me to say that they were not on the Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Clydesdale are being a right pain. The St Helier solicitor who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Clydesdale are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Clydesdale have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Clydesdale have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Clydesdale may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Should my conveyancer be making enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in St Helier.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers conducting conveyancing in St Helier. There are those who buy a house in St Helier, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or by their lawyers which should figure out the risks in St Helier. The standard completed inquiry forms supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the vendor to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past which is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser could bring a compensation claim resulting from an misleading answer. The purchaser’s lawyers may also order an environmental search. This should reveal if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be initiated.
How does conveyancing in St Helier differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in St Helier approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because new home sellers in St Helier typically buy the land, 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 St Helier or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in St Helier I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in St Helier in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
We are one month into a freehold purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the high street agent to handle our conveyancing in St Helier. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
They would need to be really poor in order to consider replacing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new contact details and get the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer should be on the lenders approved list to avoid added costs and frustration. That should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool should help you find a lender approved solicitor for your conveyancing in St Helier