Can conveyancing in Headington to be done in a month?
First, If you are under pressure to exchange it is advisable to make sure that your conveyancer is familiar with the area as they will benefit local contacts and knowledge. It is even conceivable that they could have transacted previoushomes in the same road. You would be best advised to use a Headington conveyancing firm. Second, make sure that the lawyer is on the lender panel. It is said that nearly one in five of Headington conveyancing transactions are delayed or derailed after finding out that a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their banks panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the home move being held up by as much as three weeks. It is believed that this issue affects approximately one hundred thousand home moves annually. Almost all Headington conveyancing firms can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check as early as possible.
How up to date is your search tool for Headington conveyancing solicitors on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? Do Clydesdale send you an updated list?
Headington conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Clydesdale directly.
We wanted to use a property lawyer in Headington for our home move. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage company The Mortgage Works won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
A decade ago most lenders had a different appetite for risk. Almost all Headington conveyancing firms would have been on many bank panels. The financial services regulator in 2010 completed a thematic review into mortgage fraud which come to the conclusion: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, mortgage companies have regularly sought more information from law firms concerning their operations and the individuals who work for them as well as establishing certain criteria such a completing on a minimum amount of transactions. Many Headington conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have a 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Headington is amongst the thousands of areas where the solicitors we list are are authorised to act for The Mortgage Works.
My wife and I buying a 3 bedroom semi in Headington. We would like to an extension at the rear at the house.Will the conveyancing process include investigations to see if these alterations are prohibited?
Your solicitor should review the registered title as conveyancing in Headington will on occasion reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prohibit certain alterations or necessitated the permission of a 3rd party. Many works call for local authority planning consent and approval under the building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. It would be sensible to check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
I can not fathom if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Headington building society branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Headington conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the solicitor is on the lender panel, she or he must comply with the CML Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Headington solicitor - who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money 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 Headington 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 have a renovated Georgian house in Headington. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Yorkshire Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. Is it worth asking Yorkshire Building Society to clarify?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Headington and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.