My partner and I are planning to purchase a home in Cranford and have instructed a Cranford conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. National Westminster Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Cranford conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors 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 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Cranford lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Cranford? Is this really warranted?
In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Cranford conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing matters. This is usually dealt with by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill showing where you live.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancing solicitors are required to investigate not simply the ID of conveyancing clients but also the source of monies that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this may lead to your solicitor cancelling their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your property lawyers are duty bound to inform the appropriate authorities should they believe that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.
five months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Cranford completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Cranford differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Cranford contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because house builders in Cranford tend to buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Cranford or who has acted in the same development.
My cousin has urged me to use his lawyers for conveyancing in Cranford. Should I choose my own conveyancer?
There are no two ways about it it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing practitioner is to get recommendations from friends or family who have used the conveyancer that you are contemplating using.