My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a home in Torrington and have instructed a Torrington conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Yorkshire Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Torrington conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Torrington lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My Torrington conveyancer has uncovered a discrepancy between the information in the valuation report and what is in the conveyancing documents. My lawyer says that he needs to ensure that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my lawyer’s stance appropriate?
Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a searchable register to to identify law firms on the Melton Mowbray Building Society conveyancing panel for example in Torrington?
We are not aware of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility.
I am purchasing a property in Torrington. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Principality be concerned?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Principality your lawyer must follow the formal requirements set out in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Principality. The CML Handbook contains minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Principality where a lease does not meet these specifications. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Torrington.
I am expecting a OIP from Barclays this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Barclays recommend any Torrington solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Torrington solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Barclays conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Barclays through the process.
RBS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a apartment in Torrington has been agreed to, now what?
Your estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure the conveyancing practitioners are on the bank’s panel). Contact RBS or your broker and finalise any appropriate paperwork. RBS will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to schedule a time for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. RBS will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Torrington.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Torrington?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Torrington. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am buying a new build apartment in Torrington. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Torrington
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The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.