Me and my fiance are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Stretford with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Stretford solicitor, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Stretford property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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 Stretford conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The Stretford conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Stretford have suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and my preferred Stretford lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
Have just purchased a probate house at auction in Stretford. Conveyancing is needed. What are my next steps?
Given that you have now exchanged you must appoint a conveyancing lawyer quickly as you now have a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the property. All auction property should have an associated auction pack. This should include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the legal papers should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation relating to leasehold premises. You should give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that your finances are organised to complete on the date specified in the contract.
My father pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Stretford there could be various restrictions prohibiting external alterations to the property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Stretford which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Stretford should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Does a directory service exist listing Barclays panel solicitors in Stretford on the Building Society Association’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings available over the internet. If you are seeking to appoint a Stretford lawyer on the Barclays please make the most of our tool.
I have justbeen informed that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Stretford for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Stretford conveyancing specialists.
I am purchasing my first flat in Stretford with a loan from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The sellers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my lawyer about the deal as it could jeopardize my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
A licensed conveyancer acted on my conveyancing in Stretford half a dozen years past and was holding my deeds but has since been shut down – What can I do to get hold of these?
Deeds, as such, are no longer appropriate for the majority of properties in Stretford are registered digitally at Land Registry. If you need to prove ownership or are selling or refinancing your lawyer can obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.
If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned with reasonable haste.