My husband and I are hoping to buy a flat in Great Stanmore and have instructed a Great Stanmore conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Great Stanmore solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 solicitors to act. 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 Great Stanmore lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My Conveyancer in Great Stanmore is not on the Yorkshire Building Society Solicitor Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Yorkshire Building Society approved list?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your preferred Great Stanmore lawyers but Yorkshire Building Society will need to retain a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall conveyancing charges as well as cause frustration.
- Choose a new solicitor to act in the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are Persuade your solicitor to use their best endeavours to join the Yorkshire Building Society conveyancing panel
My wife and I are purchasing a house in Great Stanmore. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to deposit money into their account. What is the protection 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.
My father informed me that in buying a property in Great Stanmore there could be a number of restrictions preventing external alterations to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Great Stanmore which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Great Stanmore should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Clydesdale are being pedantic. The Great Stanmore solicitor who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Clydesdale are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Clydesdale have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Clydesdale have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Clydesdale may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Great Stanmore conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Great Stanmore conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Great Stanmore conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be of use:
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If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Great Stanmore. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Great Stanmore property is 27B Hillside in February 2010. the resulting premium, all other aspects of the valuation having been agreed between the parties was set at £8,250 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 70.25 years.
My partner and I have just had a bid accepted on our 1st home in Great Stanmore, and are about to get solicitors lined up. We have made use of the numerous rating tools and the fee estimates are from all over the country. Is it critical to have a Great Stanmore conveyancing practitioner local to your prospective new home? We are content to do all the communicating over the internet, but I am thinking at some point we may need to attend the lawyer's office to sign documents?
The conveyancer does not need to be in Great Stanmore, but choosing local means that you have the option to go in if needed, for instance, if a signature is needed urgently. In addition, a Great Stanmore solicitor is likely to be familiar with local agents and (if the vendor has instructed a local conveyancer) with them, which will help smooth the process.