Much to our surprise we have been told by our broker that my Stotfold solicitor is not on the bank Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be certain that this is indeed the case?

You need to contact your Stotfold lawyer directly. You lawyer should inform you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Stotfold conveyancing practice that is on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.

We have very assertive sellers who has recommended a exclusivity agreement with a down payment two thousand pounds. Are such contracts generally advanced for Stotfold conveyancing transactions?

Exclusivity contracts are agreements binding a property owner and purchaser granting the buyer the sole right to the sale of the premises for a certain period of time. Essentially, an exclusivity is a document specifying that you should have a contract at a later time which is the contract for the actual sale. It is generally used for buyer confidence though in some cases, the seller may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are numerous pros and cons to using an agreement but you need to check with your conveyancer but beware that it may end up costing you more in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these contracts are rare when it comes to conveyancing in Stotfold.

I am helping my step-mother sell her house in Stotfold. Does the conveyancer arrange an energy assessment or it is for the seller to see to?

After the abolition of Home Packs, EPC’s remained a mandatory element of selling a house. An EPC should be to hand prior to the property being placed on the market. It is not a task that law firms ordinarily organise. Where you are using a Stotfold conveyancing lawyer they may be willing to arrange energy assessments due to their relationships with long established local energy assessors

When it comes to mortgage companies such as RBS, do Stotfold lawyers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

We previously appointed conveyancers with offices in Stotfold on the Bank of Ireland solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional charge for the legal aspects of the Bank of Ireland mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Bank of Ireland?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner may levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Bank of Ireland but by your Stotfold conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Bank of Ireland panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Stotfold is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?

Flying freeholds in Stotfold are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Stotfold you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Stotfold 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 residence.

The conveyancers carrying out our conveyancing in Stotfold has sent papers to review that indicate that the land is unregistered with epitome documents. How can it be that the property not yet recorded at HM Land Regsitry?

Although the vast majorities of properties in Stotfold are now registered with HMLR there are still a few that remain unregistered. Any property in Stotfold that has been transferred since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the HM Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Stotfold property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Many Stotfold conveyancing practitioners will be able to handle such matters but if any uncertainty prevails the conventional recommendation nowadays seems to be for the current owners to deal with the registration formalities first and thereafter deal with the disposal - this will have a domino effect to cause a prolonged conveyancing.