I sincerely hope you can help me. My Birmingham and the Black Country lawyer is informing me me that he is legally obliged toconduct Birmingham and the Black Country conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Lloydssolicitor panel. Is this really necessary?
You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your property lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Birmingham and the Black Country conveyancing searches.
I just bought a flat at auction in Birmingham and the Black Country. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?
Having legally bound yourself to purchase you should appoint a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you are facing a pending a drop dead date to complete the transaction. An auction property will ordinarily have a corresponding legal set of papers. This should include most,if not all of the documents that your solicitor requires. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the legal papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork relating to leasehold premises. You need to hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that your finances are organised to complete on the on the contractual date .
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Birmingham and the Black Country. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £150. A couple of days later, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Yorkshire BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Birmingham and the Black Country lawyer having checked that they are on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
HSBC will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually HSBC 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 conveyancing practitioner 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 Birmingham and the Black Country postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Birmingham and the Black Country.
Various internet forums that I have come across warn that are the main cause of obstruction in Birmingham and the Black Country house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Birmingham and the Black Country.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Birmingham and the Black Country prior to instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to give a loan on such a house.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Birmingham and the Black Country. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Should I go with a Birmingham and the Black Country conveyancing lawyer based in the location that I am buying? We have a good friend who can handle the legal work but her office is over three hundred kilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Birmingham and the Black Country conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, deliver your identification documents and pester them if necessary. Having local Birmingham and the Black Country know how is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and the majority were content that must surpass using an unfamiliar Birmingham and the Black Country conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.