My partner and I are hoping to buy a home in Great Barr and have instructed a Great Barr conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Great Barr solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender 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 and you may continue to use your own Great Barr solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My wife and I are soon to exchange on the purchase of a property in Great Barr but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have managed to agree compensation from the owner in the sum of six thousand pounds in the form of a reduction in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of amending the contract however HSBC are not allowing this. Should they have been approached?
The property lawyer that is on a HSBC approved list is required to disclose to HSBC of any amendments to the sale price. If you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to report the price change to HSBC then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, HSBC and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Great Barr.
Are the BSA planning on creating a search tool with a view to to identify law firms on the Earl Shilton BS conveyancing panel for example in Great Barr?
We have not been informed any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility.
Will my solicitor be making enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Great Barr.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Great Barr. Some people will buy a house in Great Barr, completely expectant 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 insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their lawyers which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Great Barr. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard inquiry of the owner to find out whether the premises has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the vendor, then a buyer could issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading response. The purchaser’s solicitors should also conduct an environmental report. This will disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be conducted.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Great Barr?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Great Barr. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’