I am expecting a mortgage offer from Santander. I intend to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Caterham. Does the Santander Solicitor panel exclude conveyancers regulated by the CLC?
The Santander approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, associated to the CML or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Caterham. Do I receive the keys to the property on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Caterham?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and once they have received this, you should be invited to receive the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Caterham. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £225. Shortly after, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Coventry 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 Coventry 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.
Santander have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a flat in Caterham has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the conveyancers are on the lender’s panel). Contact Santander or the financial adviser and complete any outstanding documentation. Santander will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or vendor to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. Santander will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Caterham.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Caterham prior to instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor has said that some banks will not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Caterham. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Given that I am about to spend over three hundred thousand on a terraced house in Caterham I would like to have a conversation with the solicitor regarding theconveyancing in advance of giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?
We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor due to be doing your property ownership legalities in Caterham.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a case number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in Caterham should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.
My husband and I are novice buyers - agreed a price, yet the agent has warned us that the vendor will only proceed if we instruct their recommended lawyers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local solicitor used to conveyancing in Caterham
It is improbable the owners are driving this. If they require ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious buyer is counter productive. Avoid the agents and go straight to the owners and make the point that (a)you are motivated purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you will continue to instruct your preferred Caterham conveyancing lawyers - rather thanthe ones that will provide their estate agent a introducer fee or achieve conveyancing targets demanded by corporate headquarters.