My partner and I are hoping to purchase a home in St Agnes and have appointed a St Agnes conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Bank of Ireland have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our St Agnes conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 bank 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own St Agnes solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am purchasing a semi-detached house in St Agnes. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in St Agnes you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in St Agnes.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as a 1st time buyer of a ground floor flat in St Agnes. Do I receive the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in St Agnes?
On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in St Agnes. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the seller's lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be called to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
I can not work out if my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local St Agnes building society branch on a couple of occasions and was advised it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My St Agnes conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called and was told they would not lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the lawyer is on the bank panel, she or he must follow the CML Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on a maisonette in St Agnes agreed to, the sellers do nevertheless have an associated purchase. The vendors have offered on on an apartment, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in St Agnes. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Yorkshire BS started?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then valuation, St Agnes conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Regarding the next phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. In a rising market many purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in St Agnes.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in St Agnes I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in St Agnes suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
What tools are available to find a St Agnes conveyancing solicitor on the mortgage company conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to twentykilometers to attend the solicitor.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel search on this page. Please choose the lender and your location, in this case St Agnes and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest St Agnes. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the bank solicitor panel.