My wife and I are looking to acquire a home in Wiveliscombe and have appointed a Wiveliscombe conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Wiveliscombe conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers 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 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Wiveliscombe solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My wife and I have just bought a house in Wiveliscombe. We have since encountered a number of problems with the property which we believe were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? Can you clarify the type of searches that needed to have been ordered for conveyancing in Wiveliscombe?
It is not clear from the question as what problems have arisen and if they are unique to conveyancing in Wiveliscombe. Conveyancing searches and investigations initiated during the legal transfer of property are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a property owner answers a form referred to as a SPIF. If the information ends up being incorrect, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Wiveliscombe.
Do I need to attend the offices of the solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Wiveliscombe so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
Whereas this was necessary 15 years ago, almost all mortgage companies no longer oblige their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. It will still be necessary for you to provide ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to instructing a locally based practitioner, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Wiveliscombe.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Wiveliscombe I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Wiveliscombe in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
How do I use your search tool to locate a conveyancing solicitor in Wiveliscombe on the panel for my lender?
1st pick a lender such as Nationwide Building Society, Bank of Scotland or Britannia then specify your location such as Wiveliscombe. Conveyancing firms in Wiveliscombe and beyond will then be identified.
My wife and I about to complete on the purchase a house in Wiveliscombe but as a consequence of wreckage from the recent storms I have negotiated recompense from the seller of £3k by way of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however my bank will not permit this. Why were they involved?
Your conveyancing practitioner that is on the mortgage company approved list is duty bound to disclose to the mortgage company of any variations to the sale price. If you prohibit your property lawyer to notify the reduction to your mortgage company then they would need to refrain from acting for you and the bank.