In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Houghton Regis? What am I being asked for?
It is indeed that case that the requirement set out by your lawyer has nothing to do with conveyancing in Houghton Regis. Nowadays you can not complete any conveyancing process if you have not providing proof of your identity. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a council tax bill. Please note that if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of ID it needs to be both the paper element as well as the photo card part, one is not sufficient in the absence of the other.
Evidence of your source of funds is required under Money Laundering Regulations. Please do not be offended when you are asked to produce this as your conveyancer must retain this information on record. Your Houghton Regis conveyancing solicitor will need to see evidence of proof of funds before they are able to accept any funds from you into their client account and they will also ask further queries regarding the source of monies.
Me and my partner are buying a house in Houghton Regis. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On the day of competition we have to send our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
How can we know in advance if a Houghton Regis conveyancing solicitor on the UBS panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Houghton Regis obtaining recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advocate that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing.
Planning on purchasing a apartment in Houghton Regis. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the RBS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Houghton Regis conveyancing practitioner is on the RBS conveyancing panel.
My relative advised me that where I am buying in Houghton Regis 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 Houghton Regis conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Houghton Regis around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Houghton Regis Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Houghton Regis.
I am purchasing my first flat in Houghton Regis with a loan from Chelsea Building Society. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent told me not to tell my solicitor about this extras as it may impact my loan with Chelsea Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Should I appoint a Houghton Regis conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal formalities however they are based 300kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a high street Houghton Regis conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, deliver your identification documents and pester them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and in the main were content that should outweigh using an unknown Houghton Regis conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.