My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a house in West Hill and have appointed a West Hill 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. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our West Hill conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual 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 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 West Hill lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Please could you suggest a Godiva Mortgages Ltd allowed West Hill conveyancing practice that can complete within 28 days? Would it be better to use a local West Hill solicitor or a factory type conveyancer?
We would be happy to suggest some excellent West Hill conveyancing firms. You can also walk up the main road in West Hill. Approach some well established law practices and ask to speak with a conveyancing solicitor for a quote. Explain your time frames together with your reasons and get a commitment on your deadline. Choose the lawyer that genuine.
I used Wolstenholmes a few years past for my conveyancing in West Hill. Now, I need my files but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in West Hill of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one close by in West Hill I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in West Hill in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for remortgage conveyancing in West Hill. I happened to land on a web site which looks to be the ideal solution If it is possible to get all formalities completed via phone that would be ideal. Should I be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Why do West Hill conveyancing costs differ for leasehold and freehold properties?
There is always more work required for leasehold conveyancing. West Hill has many leasehold properties. There is more paperwork involved in the purchase: for example, the lease and leasehold information (including up to date service charge, ground rent and buildings insurance details) obtained from the freeholder or managing agents. There are strict criteria that the lease must meet in order to be acceptable to a mortgage company. If it does not meet these requirements, the lease must be amended, which can involve additional expense for the seller.