My wife and I are planning to acquire a home in Old Windsor and have instructed a Old Windsor conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Old Windsor conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Old Windsor solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Old Windsor is more expensive?
The conveyancing fees on a leasehold premises in Old Windsor is often more expensive than on a freehold acquisition or disposal. This is because there is an amount of additional time necessary in liaising with the landlord and managing agents to collate the information about whether the rent and service fee have been discharged and whether there are any significant expenditure in the foreseeable future on repairs or maintenance of the building.
My wife and I are purchasing a flat in Old Windsor. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we have to put our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
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.
Does a directory service exist listing Santander panel conveyancers in Old Windsor on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of mortgage companies make their panel listings visible on the web. If you are seeking to appoint a Old Windsor conveyancing practitioner on the Santander please use our facility.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in May 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Principality are being a right pain. The Old Windsor solicitor who is on the Principality conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Principality are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Principality have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Principality have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Principality 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.
I am downsizing from our property in Old Windsor and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using a web based conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Old Windsor. Having lived in Old Windsor for six years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
Have purchased a a semi-detached house in Old Windsor , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to register my ownership? My Old Windsor conveyancing solicitor has been very slow, so I want to check that my ownership is recorded.
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Old Windsor registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can adjust according to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry must send notices to any interested parties. At present in the region of 80% of submission are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive hold-ups. Registration takes place once the purchaser has moved in to the property so 'speed' is not always top priority but if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer can contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Old Windsor prior to instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some banks tend not give a mortgage on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Old Windsor. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.