Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in County Durham is not identified on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of her conveyancing?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) lack of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should simply call the County Durham conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
My partner and I are buying a new build duplex in County Durham and my solicitor is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. I am on a tight deadline to exchange and I don't want to prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We are aiming to move house in April. Should my conveyancing solicitor update the removal company on the day of completion. On a separate note, can you suggest a removal company in County Durham. Conveyancing lawyer was organised prior to coming across this site.
On the afternoon of completion you will need to collect the house keys from the property agent but this should only happen once the sellers conveyancers advise the agent that the monies to complete are in and the keys can be collected. After that you will need to advise the removal men that they can start moving you in. We do not suggest a particular removal organisation but can help you find a conveyancing in County Durham or a legal practice with expertise in conveyancing in County Durham.
I'm the sole recipient of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name now, including the house in County Durham. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in February. I want to move. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship could be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in February. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. How sensible a view lenders take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement chiefly exists to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of property.
I'm in the throws of looking at apartments in County Durham and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a lawyer in place at this stage? I intend to finance via a home loan with UBS.
It would be sensible to start your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the selling agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with UBS, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel.
My relative recommended that if I am purchasing in County Durham I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard County Durham conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about County Durham around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the County Durham Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, County Durham Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding County Durham.
How easy is it to use your search app to locate a conveyancing lawyer in County Durham on the panel for my lender?
First choose a lender such as Santander, Chelsea Building Society or Bank of Ireland then specify your preferred area for instance County Durham. Conveyancing organisations in County Durham and further afield should be shown.