My partner and I are looking to buy a house in Fenham and are in fact using a Fenham conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Fenham lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Fenham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My brother and I have just acquired a property in Fenham. We have noticed several problems with the property which we believe were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? Can you clarify the type of searches that should have been conducted for conveyancing in Fenham?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are specific to conveyancing in Fenham. Conveyancing searches and investigations initiated during the buying process are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a seller answers a form known as a SPIF. answers provided is misleading, then you may have a claim against the seller for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Fenham.
I am considering applying for a UBS mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Fenham with 60% LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for UBS ?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the UBS conveyancing panel, but UBS would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
Will commercial conveyancing searches disclose impending roadworks that could affect a commercial land in Fenham?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Fenham will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers spend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Fenham. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Fenham.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Fenham it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can cause delays to Fenham commercial conveyancing deals as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for domestic conveyancing in Fenham.
The property lawyers conducting our conveyancing in Fenham has sent documents to review that show the land is unregistered with epitome documents. How can it be that the property not registred at HMLR?
Whilst most properties in Fenham are now registered with HM Land Registry there are still a few that are unregistered. Any property in Fenham that has been transferred since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Fenham property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Many Fenham conveyancing solicitors will be capable of dealing with such matters but where uncertainty reigns the usual guidance nowadays is for the seller’s conveyancer to register the title first and subsequently deal with the sale conveyance - this this chain of events will result in a significant delay.