My partner and I are looking to purchase a home in Griffithstown and have instructed a Griffithstown conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Santander have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Griffithstown lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Griffithstown solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in Griffithstown?
If you are buying a property in Griffithstown your lawyer will ask you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is as part of the purchase price then this should be required immediately before exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer a couple of days ahead of the day of completion.
Are the BSA intent on creating a online directory to to identify practices on the Melton Mowbray Building Society conveyancing panel for example in Griffithstown?
We would not expect to be advised of any plans on the part of the BSA to promote such a tool.
Me and my brother own a renovated Victorian house in Griffithstown. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Leeds Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Griffithstown and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Griffithstown before retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact 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 Griffithstown. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.