My fiance and I are looking to purchase a flat in Trentham and have appointed a Trentham conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays Direct have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Trentham lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. 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 represent 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 mortgage company 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 Trentham solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
At what point does exchange of contracts occur in domestic conveyancing in Trentham and do I need to be at the conveyancers branch?
If you are near to our conveyancing solicitors in Trentham you are welcome to attend to sign the paperwork. However, the firms we work with supply a nationwide conveyancing service and provide as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you digitally. The signing of the contract is not the point of no return. Signing on the dotted line is necessary for the conveyancer to address the formalities when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Trentham)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
is it true that all Trentham solicitor practices on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Virgin Money approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be governed by the CLC.
We previously chose solicitors with offices in Trentham on the Bank of Ireland solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a supplemental amount for the legal aspects of the Bank of Ireland mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Bank of Ireland?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your property lawyer may charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Bank of Ireland but by your Trentham property lawyer. Some firms on the Bank of Ireland panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Trentham bank branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Trentham conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they would not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
The solicitor has to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 specifications for your bank. 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 mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I am looking for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Trentham I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Trentham suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan that many years will be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
In surfing the world wide web for the words cheap conveyancing in Trentham it brings up many property lawyersin the area. How do I determine which is the right conveyancing solicitor for my move?
The ideal method of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a trusted testimonial, so ask friends and relatives who have purchased a property in Trentham or the respected estate agent or mortgage broker. Costs for conveyancing in Trentham vary, so it's advisable to secure a minimum of three quotes from varying types of companies. Dont forget to clarify what costs in the quote includes.