My husband and I are hoping to acquire a home in Ferndown and are in fact using a Ferndown conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Ferndown conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers 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 bank 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Ferndown lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My brother and I have recently purchased a house in Ferndown. We have noticed several problems with the property which we believe were omitted in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? What searches should? have been carried out as part of conveyancing in Ferndown?
The query is vague as what problems have arisen and if they are unique to conveyancing in Ferndown. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated as part of the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a seller fills in a questionnaire called a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers turns out to be incorrect, 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 Ferndown.
When it comes to lenders such as HSBC, do Ferndown solicitors have to pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
Does a directory service exist listing Lloyds panel conveyancers in Ferndown on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings open the public online. If you are seeking to appoint a Ferndown conveyancer on the Lloyds please make the most of our tool.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Aldermore as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our property in Ferndown. Are we obliged to choose a nearby Ferndown solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Aldermore do not ordinarily appoint a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Aldermore panel.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Ferndown prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Ferndown. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Ferndown especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Ferndown.
As co-executor for the estate of my aunt I am selling a house in Monmouth but reside in Ferndown. My solicitor (approximately 260 miles from meneeds me to sign a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Ferndown to witness this legal document for me?
Technically speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Ferndown