My fiance and I are hoping to buy a property in Winchelsea and have instructed a Winchelsea conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Winchelsea conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Winchelsea lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Principality. Winchelsea conveyancing lawyers have been appointed. How long does it take for Principality to forward the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Principality done the valuation? Have you informed Principality as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Principality conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
About to purchase flat in Winchelsea. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Winchelsea lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.
I have instructed a Winchelsea conveyancer having made sure that they are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Nottingham will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nottingham will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Winchelsea surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may impact a commercial land in Winchelsea?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Winchelsea will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers invest in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Winchelsea. The search result provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Winchelsea.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Winchelsea it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can cause delays to Winchelsea commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Winchelsea.
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Winchelsea. I now require my papers however 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 Winchelsea of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in Winchelsea differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Winchelsea approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because developers in Winchelsea tend to purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Winchelsea or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Winchelsea before retaining lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Winchelsea. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.