My fiance and I are planning to buy a house in Brighouse and Rastrick and are in fact using a Brighouse and Rastrick conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. HSBC Bank have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Brighouse and Rastrick conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Brighouse and Rastrick solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Would the conveyancing practitioners that you recommend conduct auction conveyancing in Brighouse and Rastrick?
There are a few auction solicitors we can connect you with those conducting auction conveyancing. Brighouse and Rastrick is just one of the many locations in which our lawyers are based.
When scouring consumer advice sites for a cheap solicitor in Brighouse and Rastrick, most post that I should instruct a CQS accredited solicitor. What is CQS?
The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised kitemark for legal experts in the legal transfer of properties, trusted by some of the UK's major lenders. In 2011-12 the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Legal Ombudsman. The scheme does not cover licenced conveyancers. Brighouse and Rastrick is one of the many areas of the UK where there are CQS solicitors.
Will my conveyancer be asking questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Brighouse and Rastrick.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers specialising in conveyancing in Brighouse and Rastrick. There are those who acquire a house in Brighouse and Rastrick, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Brighouse and Rastrick. The standard information sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual question of the vendor to find out if the property has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the seller, then a buyer could issue a claim for damages stemming from an incorrect reply. The buyer’s conveyancers may also order an enviro search. This will higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be conducted.
Would local authority permission be necessary to change a house into multiple appartments in Brighouse and Rastrick? This has been done to a house opposite to my home in Brighouse and Rastrick and was not aware of it happening until it was done.
Planning permission is required for converting a single house in Brighouse and Rastrick into flats but possibly not for reverting back to single dwelling-house so, in answer to your query, yes,a it is required.