My fiance and I are looking to purchase a flat in London Colney and have appointed a London Colney conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. National Westminster Bank have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our London Colney solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
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 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 lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred London Colney lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My fiance and I are refinancing our maisonette in London Colney with Bank of Ireland. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Bank of Ireland. This is solely used to protect Bank of Ireland if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Bank of Ireland had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in London Colney. Conveyancing solicitors have just been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate the deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be with the lender or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in London Colney relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
Should our solicitor be asking questions about flooding during the conveyancing in London Colney.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers conducting conveyancing in London Colney. There are those who buy a property in London Colney, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their lawyers which should figure out the risks in London Colney. The standard information given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the seller to find out if the property has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser could bring a claim for damages as a result of such an incorrect response. A buyer’s lawyers should also order an environmental search. This should reveal if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations will need to be made.
We are 14 days into a residential purchase having been recommend to a firm by the selling agent to handle our conveyancing in London Colney. I am am starting to be disappointed with the level of service. Can you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?
They would have to be really bad to suggest changing them. Has your mortgage offer been generated? If so you will need to inform them of the replacement lawyer and ensure the offer are issued to the new lawyers. Your new conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid added costs and frustration. So that should be your starting point. Our search tool should assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in London Colney