My wife and I are looking to purchase a property in Waterhouses and are in fact using a Waterhouses conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. TSB have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Waterhouses lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors 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 bank 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 Waterhouses lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Waterhouses? Is this really necessary?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identification documents of the person or body they are dealing with prior to agreeing to accepting their conveyancing instruction. The Terms and Conditions that you are required to sign should reaffirm this. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the CML Lenders Handbook requirements last updated on 1st December 2014. Where you refuse to provide identification documents, your solicitor can not take you on as a client.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of delay in Waterhouses house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Waterhouses.
The deeds to our home can not be found. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Waterhouses 5 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be held by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and obtain up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for twenty pounds.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Waterhouses. Conveyancing is daunting 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 conveyancing.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Waterhouses
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Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.
Do I need to be suspicious by estate agents that I am dealing with are recommending a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Waterhouses conveyancing company?
As is the case with many service providers, often referrals from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are lots of players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies may recommend conveyancers to appoint. On occasion these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there exists a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the right to choose your own lawyer. You need to be aware that the majority of banks operate an approved list of conveyancers you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your conveyancing.