My partner and I are hoping to acquire a home in Forestdale and have instructed a Forestdale conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Clydesdale have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Forestdale conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 property lawyer 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Forestdale solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am nearing an exchange on a flat in Forestdale and my mum and dad have transferred the 10% deposit to my solicitor. I am now informed that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my solicitor needs to make a notification to my lender. I am advised that, in also acting for the bank he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I informed the lender concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for this now to be an issue?
The solicitor is legally required to check with the bank to ensure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only disclose this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Forestdale? What am I being asked for?
To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Forestdale conveyancing firm will require proof of identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill evidencing your correct address.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, property lawyers are required to ascertain not simply the ID of conveyancing clients but also the source of fund that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this will lead to your lawyer terminating their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your property lawyers will have an obligation to notify the relevant authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.
How does conveyancing in Forestdale differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Forestdale approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because builders in Forestdale typically acquire the land, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Forestdale or who has acted in the same development.
A licensed conveyancer handled my conveyancing in Forestdale half a dozen years past having stored my title documents but has now closed – What steps do I now take to retreive these?
Deeds, as such, no longer exist as most homes in Forestdale are archived electronically at Land Registry. If you need to prove evidence of proprietorship or are selling or refinancing your solicitor should obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.
If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned as quickly as possible.