It is is a decade since I purchased my house in Washington. Conveyancing solicitors have just been instructed on the sale but I am unable to track down the title deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they may stored with the lawyers who acted in the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Washington relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
Our bank has recommended solicitors on their panel based in Washington but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Washington or nearer to where I live. Are you able to assist?
Not all Washington conveyancing practitioners are approved and listed on all banks conveyancing panel. Use the above find an approved solicitor tool to locate a Washington conveyancing conveyancer on the on the bank panel.
How can we tell if a Washington conveyancing solicitor on the Virgin Money panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Washington obtaining recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always advise that you speak with the solicitor conducting your conveyancing.
My offer was accepted on a property in Washington on 26/2/2024, valuation was booked 3 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Santander and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel. Are Santander entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Santander to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Washington conveyancer having checked that they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Washington surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
I am buying a property and the conveyancer has mentioned Chancel Repair to which the house may be obligated to pay as it falls into the area of such a church. She has suggested insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in Washington
Unless a previous acquisition of the premises completed post 12 October 2013 you could expect lawyers delivering conveyancing in Washington to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house are lost. The conveyancers who did the conveyancing in Washington 5 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
Assuming you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be retained by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your house and obtain current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for a small fee.