My husband and I are looking to acquire a flat in East Preston and have instructed a East Preston conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our East Preston solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers 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 East Preston lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Me and my partner are buying a apartment in East Preston. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we have to send funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
How can we tell if a East Preston conveyancing solicitor on the Bank of Ireland panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in East Preston getting recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer handling your conveyancing.
I have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in East Preston. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nottingham?
Nottingham must be informed of your intention in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Nottingham will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nottingham directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor.
Should my solicitor be asking questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in East Preston.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in East Preston. There are those who buy a house in East Preston, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of searches that can be initiated by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which will figure out the risks in East Preston. The conventional set of information given to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual question of the vendor to discover whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the property has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading response. A buyer’s solicitors should also carry out an environmental search. This should disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations should be made.
How does conveyancing in East Preston differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in East Preston approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in East Preston tend to acquire the site, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in East Preston or who has acted in the same development.
I decided to have a survey completed on a property in East Preston before appointing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in East Preston. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in East Preston especially if they are familiar with such properties in East Preston.