My wife and I are hoping to purchase a property in Whitworth and are in fact using a Whitworth conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Halifax have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Whitworth lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Whitworth solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Whitworth what would it be?
Do not opt for the cheapest Whitworth conveyancing fees. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Whitworth. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in November 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Lloyds are being pedantic. The Whitworth solicitor who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Lloyds are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Lloyds have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Lloyds have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Lloyds may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
three months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Whitworth completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Whitworth is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Whitworth are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Whitworth you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Whitworth may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
What does commercial conveyancing in Whitworth cover?
Whitworth conveyancing for business premises covers a broad range of advice, supplied by regulated solicitors, relating to business premises. For example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the assignment of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.