My wife and I are looking to purchase a property in Ilfracombe and are in fact using a Ilfracombe conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Alliance & Leicester have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Ilfracombe lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Ilfracombe solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I own a renovated Edwardian house in Ilfracombe. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Halifax. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Ilfracombe and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
How does conveyancing in Ilfracombe differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Ilfracombe come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because new home sellers in Ilfracombe typically buy the site, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Ilfracombe or who has acted in the same development.
How simple is it to transfer to a new conveyancer as I have to retain a firm on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel. I instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Ilfracombe five minutes from me but the firm is not accepted by Nationwide Building Society
It would be our pleasure to help you find a conveyancing solicitor in Ilfracombe on the Nationwide Building Society panel. Please note that the law firms that we on the directory do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Ilfracombe. Using search facility on this page, you can compare charges for conveyancing solicitors in Ilfracombe and beyond.
My lawyers in Ilfracombe have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with the mortgage company. Is it case that being on the bank conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the bank directly.