My husband and I are hoping to acquire a home in Totland and have appointed a Totland conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barclays Direct have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Totland solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Totland solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am getting closer to an exchange on a property in Totland and my parents have sent the exchange deposit to my conveyancer. I am now told that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my conveyancer needs to disclose this to my mortgage company. I am advised that, in also acting for the bank he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I disclosed to the lender about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?
Your solicitor is duty bound to clarify with the bank to ensure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only disclose this to your mortgage company if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the home moving as a first time buyer of a ground floor flat in Totland. Do I pick up the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Totland?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be invited to collect the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Kent Reliance, do Totland solicitors have to pay an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Leeds Building Society have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a flat in Totland has been agreed to, now what?
The estate agent will need to be advised as to your conveyancer's details (ensure that the lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Contact Leeds Building Society or the financial adviser and finalise any outstanding forms. Leeds Building Society will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or seller to arrange a slot for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately ten days to get a mortgage offer. Leeds Building Society will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Totland.
I am downsizing from our house in Totland and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. A high street Totland lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed a web based conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Totland. We have lived in Totland for six years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house can not be found. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Totland 4 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be retained by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your property and secure current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I happen to be an executor of my recently deceased aunt’s Will, with a property in Totland which is to be marketed. The house has never been registered at the Land Registry and I'm told that some purchasers will insist that it is completed before they'll proceed. What's the mechanism for this?
In the situation that you have set out it seems sensible to apply to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. The Land Registry’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and official copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.