My partner and I are hoping to acquire a house in Polperro and have appointed a Polperro conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Britannia have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Polperro lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage 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 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 Polperro solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are getting closer to an exchange on a property in Polperro and my mum and dad have transferred the exchange deposit to my property lawyer. I am now told that as the deposit has not come from me my conveyancer needs to disclose this to my lender. I am advised that, in also acting for the bank he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the lender regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really necessary for this now to be an issue?
The property lawyer is legally required to clarify with lender to make sure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only notify this to your bank if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Can I use your services to find a Conveyancing solicitor in Polperro even where I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for example if I want to buy a shop in Polperro with a loan from Bank of Scotland?
The service is mainly there to help choose residential conveyancing solicitors in Polperro but we have listed towards the bottom of this page some Polperro commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to speak with the company directly to check if they can also act for Bank of Scotland
We are purchasing a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Polperro. Our aim is to carry out a loft conversion at the property.Will the conveyancing process include enquiries to ascertain if these alterations are permitted?
Your conveyancer should check the registered title as conveyancing in Polperro can occasionally reveal restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain works or need the permission of another owner. Certain extensions need local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
We expect to receive a DIP from Yorkshire BS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Yorkshire BS recommend any Polperro solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Polperro solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Yorkshire BS through the process.
I'm at the point of looking at apartments in Polperro and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a home loan with HSBC.
It would be advisable to start your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel.
What tools are available to identify a Polperro law firm on the Santander conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am willing to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the tool on this website. Please pick a bank and your location and you will see a number of Polperro conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Polperro conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to check whether they are on the Santander approved list