My fiance and I are planning to buy a property in Stonehouse and have instructed a Stonehouse conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Lloyds TSB Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Stonehouse lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Stonehouse solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
What is your number one tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Stonehouse
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Stonehouse conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the home moving as a 1st time buyer of a garden flat in Stonehouse. Do I pick up the keys to the property on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Stonehouse?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Stonehouse. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be invited to receive the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens early afternoon.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Stonehouse off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Principality. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel.
What will a local search inform me regarding the house my wife and I buying in Stonehouse?
Stonehouse conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Searchflow The local search plays a central role in most Stonehouse conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic headings.
I'm converting the mortgage on my primary property to a BTL loan with Bank of Scotland and I will use the ballance of the raised equity as a deposit on another house. The area we are looking at is Stonehouse. Will your solicitors be able to act for both sets of banks and tie in the two deals?
Make use of our comparison tool on this site to ensure that the conveyancers are on the appropriate lender panels. On the basis that they are the solicitor will be able to tie up the two deals but you should talk with you conveyancer and make apparent your expectations and needs.
Our lawyer in Stonehouse has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Stonehouse. The other side have offered title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the bank conveyancing panel he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. A precondition to being on the mortgage company approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.