My wife and I are looking to acquire a home in Victoria Dock and have instructed a Victoria Dock conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Victoria Dock solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors 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 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Victoria Dock lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Last September we completed a house move in Victoria Dock. We have noticed several issues with the house which we consider were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? What searches should? have been carried out as part of conveyancing in Victoria Dock?
The question is not clear as to the nature of the problems and if they are specific to conveyancing in Victoria Dock. Conveyancing searches and investigations initiated as part of the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a property owner fills in a form referred to as a SPIF. answers proves to be inaccurate, you could possibly take legal action against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Victoria Dock.
What does a local search tell me regarding the house my wife and I purchasing in Victoria Dock?
Victoria Dock conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Onsearch The local search plays an important part in most Victoria Dock conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your new home. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (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 thirteen topic areas.
I am buying a new build house in Victoria Dock with a loan from Bank of Ireland. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent told me not reveal to my lawyer about the extras as it will affect my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Should I be wary that brokers that I am dealing with are recommending a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Victoria Dock conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many service providers, often input from family and friends can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are many players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders may suggest lawyers to retain. Sometimes these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there might be a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You are free to choose your own lawyer. You need to be aware that most mortgage providers specify a panel list of law firms you must use for the lender aspect of your home move.