My husband and I are hoping to acquire a home in Calstock and have instructed a Calstock conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Bank of Ireland have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Calstock solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 solicitor 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Calstock lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I used Arc property Solicitors several years past for my conveyancing in Calstock. I now require my papers but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Calstock of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

How does conveyancing in Calstock differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Calstock approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because builders in Calstock typically 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 conveyancers 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 Calstock or who has acted in the same development.

I am looking to sell my house. My previous conveyancers has retired. I would be grateful for any recommendation of a conveyancing firm. Im based in Calstock if that makes things easier.

You should use our search tool to help you find a solicitor for your conveyancing in Calstock. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with regulated solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move runs with a minimum of fuss.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Calstock what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Calstock. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts. Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Calstock Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? This question is important as a) areas may result in problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have all the details How much is the ground rent and service charge?