My partner and I are hoping to purchase a house in Hadleigh and have instructed a Hadleigh 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. HSBC Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hadleigh solicitor 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' solicitors 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 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 lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Hadleigh solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
As someone unfamiliar with conveyancing in Hadleigh what is the number one tip you can give me for the home moving process in Hadleigh
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Hadleigh or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For instance, the seller, selling agent and even potentially a lender. Appointing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Hadleigh an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the process whose role it is to look after your best interests and to keep you safe.
Every so often a potential adversary will attempt to persuade you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For example, the selling agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your solicitor is dragging his heels. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do take action that is contrary to your conveyancers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.
How does conveyancing in Hadleigh differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Hadleigh contact us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because house builders in Hadleigh usually acquire the real estate, 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 conveyancers 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 Hadleigh or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Hadleigh I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Hadleigh suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
I acquired a property in Hadleigh last 8/7/2024 and to date it is still not recorded with the Land Registry. It was part of a new estate and my conveyancer told me that it may take over a year to register. I have spoken with the Land Registry directly and they say that the initial application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. Do I need to be concerned?
Contact your conveyancing practitioner - if you are not getting sensible responses, enquire as to their firm’s complaints procedure and amplify your concerns to a Complaints Manager. Registrations for Hadleigh conveyancing are not known to be especially complex.