I am purchasing a brand new duplex in Sandown and my solicitor is informing me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I don't want to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
As someone clueless as to the Sandown conveyancing process what is the number one tip you can impart for the legal transfer of property in Sandown
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Sandown or throughout Isle Of Wight is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of room for conflict between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the vendor, property agent and on occasion a mortgage company. Selecting a lawyer for your conveyancing in Sandown should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the legal process whose responsibility is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.
On occasion a potential adversary may try and convince you that you should follow their advice. For example, the selling agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your lawyer is slow. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do something that is against your lawyers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.
I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Sandown for our house move. Our broker has since advised us that our mortgage lenders Platform Home Loans Ltd won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Banks on the whole imposes restrictions either the category or the amount of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such criteria being that a firm must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the profile of firm, some have limited the number of solicitor practices they permit to represent them. You should note that Platform Home Loans Ltd have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Platform Home Loans Ltd Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of solicitor panels since 2008 even though there are differing opinions regarding the level of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Sandown only execute one or two conveyances a year.
Will our solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Sandown.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Sandown. Some people will buy a property in Sandown, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that can be initiated by the buyer or by their conveyancers which should figure out the risks in Sandown. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual inquiry of the seller to find out if the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the owner, then a buyer could issue a legal claim for losses resulting from an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s solicitors will also carry out an enviro search. This will disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be conducted.
How does conveyancing in Sandown differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Sandown come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because builders in Sandown usually acquire 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 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 used to new build conveyancing in Sandown or who has acted in the same development.