Me and my husband are acquiring residence in Whitchurch. My lawyer is not on the lender approved list. Am I still permitted to retain my Whitchurch conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company approved list?
One will need to have a lawyer to deal with the formalities if you take out a loan to purchase your home. The lawyer will conduct all the essential due diligence on the property, ensuring that you will be registered as proprietor and ensure that all the necessary mortgage paperwork is in place. You may instruct a Whitchurch conveyancer of your choice. However, where the conveyancing practitioner appointed is not on the mortgage company solicitor panel supplemental costs will be incurred as separate legal representation will be need by the mortgage company. Bank panel applications may be submitted, so where your lawyer has not previously sought membership they can do so.
My fiance and I intend to purchase a purpose built flat in Whitchurch with a homeloan from Bank of Scotland.We use our Whitchurch conveyancing practitioner but Bank of Scotland advised that her practice is not listed on their approved list of member firms. It seems we are left with no choice but to instruct a Bank of Scotland panel solicitor or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for a Bank of Scotland panel lawyer to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Bank of Scotland use our lawyer?
No, not really. The home loan offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that lawyers must be on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel. in the past, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Bank of Scotland
This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a 1st time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Whitchurch. Do I pick up the keys to the house on the completion date from my conveyancer? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Whitchurch?
On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Whitchurch. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be able to receive the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
A friend advised me that in purchasing a property in Whitchurch there may be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external alterations to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Whitchurch which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Whitchurch should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Whitchurch solicitor - who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Barclays will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Barclays 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. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Whitchurch postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Whitchurch.
I completed on my flat on 1 March and the transaction details is yet to be on the land registry website. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in Whitchurch said it will be formalised inside ten days. Are transfers in Whitchurch uniquely lengthy to register?
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Whitchurch registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can adjust depending on who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry need to notify any other parties. As of today roughly three quarters of such applications are fully dealt with within 12 days but occasionally there can be protracted hold-ups. Registration takes place once the new owner has moved in to the property therefore 'speed' is not typically primary concern but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer could contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
What does commercial conveyancing in Whitchurch cover?
Non domestic conveyancing in Whitchurch covers a broad range of guidance, given by regulated solicitors, relating to business premises. For instance, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the assignment of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of tenancies.