What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Portland?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Portland and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of opportunity for confrontation between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the vendor, selling agent and sometimes a lender. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Portland is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the transaction whose responsibility is to look after your legal interests and to protect you.

There is a definite increase of a "blame" culture- someone must be blamed for the process taking so long. We recommend that you your first instinct should be to trust your lawyer above the other parties in the conveyancing process.

Do I find a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Portland?

There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Portland and Solicitor partnerships in Portland to choose from We would stress that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in transferring property. The two can deal with other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

I have a mortgage with Nationwide for my property in Portland. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Nationwide?

You must advise Nationwide before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nationwide directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor.

The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Portland. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.

How does conveyancing in Portland differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Portland approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because house builders in Portland usually acquire the land, 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 property lawyers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Portland or who has acted in the same development.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Portland is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Portland are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Portland you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Portland may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

We are 18 days into a leasehold purchase having been referred to a firm by the selling agent to handle our conveyancing in Portland. I am am very dissatisfied with the quality of service. Could you help me find new lawyers?

A lawyer would need to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage been sent? If so you will need to inform them of the replacement conveyancer and get the offer are re-issued. Your new conveyancer needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid supplemental fees and delays. So that should be your first question of the new lawyers. The search tool can assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Portland