I plan on acquiring property in Friern Barnet. My property lawyer is not listed on the lender conveyancing list. Is it possible for me to use my Friern Barnet conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the lender approved list?
One will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner to deal with the legal work required if you take out a mortgage to buy your home. The property lawyer will carry out all the appropriate due diligence on the property, make sure that you’re properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the required mortgage documentation is in order. You could appoint a Friern Barnet conveyancer of your choosing. However, if the property lawyer selected is not a member of the bank solicitor panel further costs will arise as separate legal representation will be need by the bank. Conveyancing panel applications can be submitted, so where your solicitor has not historically sought membership they should do so.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Yorkshire BS Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Friern Barnet?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
is it true that all Friern Barnet solicitor firms on the Aldermore conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be regulated by the CLC.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Coventry BS. I assume I don't need a Friern Barnet lawyer on the Coventry BS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Coventry BS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Coventry BS mortgage from the register. Coventry BS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Coventry BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Coventry BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The mortgage over my property is with Lloyds for my property in Friern Barnet. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Lloyds?
Lloyds must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor.
My colleague suggested that where I am buying in Friern Barnet I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Friern Barnet conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Friern Barnet around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Friern Barnet Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Friern Barnet.
Given that I am about to spend over three hundred thousand on a house in Friern Barnet I wish to talk to a lawyer regarding thehome move ahead of appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the solicitor due to be doing your property ownership legalities in Friern Barnet.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a matter reference. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are provided with for residential conveyancing in Friern Barnet should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.