My fiance and I are looking to buy a property in Thornbury and have instructed a Thornbury conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Thornbury conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Thornbury lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Aldermore Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Thornbury?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
We previously selected conveyancing lawyers locally in Thornbury on the Principality solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me an additional sum for handling the Principality mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Principality?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your property lawyer is entitled to levy a fee for this. This charge is not set by Principality but by your Thornbury conveyancing practitioner. Some firms on the Principality panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some practices include it on their overall fee.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Nottingham as we want to carry out alterations to our house in Thornbury. Are we obliged to choose a nearby Thornbury solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Nottingham do not ordinarily require a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nottingham panel.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Thornbury. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an upfront payment of £175. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Principality 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 Principality 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.
What does commercial conveyancing in Thornbury cover?
Non domestic conveyancing in Thornbury covers a wide range of services, offered by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of tenancies.
I am using a search engine for the phrase on line conveyancing in Thornbury it shows results of numerous solicitorsin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right conveyancing solicitor for the sale of my house?
The ideal way of finding the right conveyancer is via personal testimonial, so ask colleagues and those you trust who have bought a property in Thornbury or the respected estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Thornbury differ, so it's advisable to secure at least four fee calculations from varying types of law firms. Make sure that you know that the charges are assured not to increase.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £475,000 garden flat in Thornbury next Friday. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Thornbury?
For most leasehold sales in Thornbury conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
-
Addressing pre-contract questions
Where consent is required before sale in Thornbury
Copies of the building insurance and schedule
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Thornbury Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
-
The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and will materially increase the the maintenance costs or require a one off invoice.