Me and my fiance are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Godalming with a mortgage. We like our Godalming lawyer, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Godalming solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This feels very unfair; can we not require that the mortgage company use our Godalming lawyer ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Godalming conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Do lawyers request money up-front for conveyancing in Godalming?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Godalming your solicitor will ask you put them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is payable against the total price then this should be required immediately ahead of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed will be payable a few days prior to the day of completion.
I need some quick conveyancing in Godalming as I am under a deadline to exchange contracts within 4 weeks. A mortgage is not required. Can I avoid the conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
As you are not getting a mortgage you are at free not to do searches although no law firm would suggest that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Godalming the following are examples of what can appear and therefore impact market value: Enforcement Notices, Overdue Fees, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...
It has been four months since my purchase conveyancing in Godalming took place. 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 premises 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 Godalming differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Godalming contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because new home sellers in Godalming usually buy the real estate, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Godalming or who has acted in the same development.