My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Coulsdon and are in fact using a Coulsdon conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Lloyds TSB Bank have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Coulsdon conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. 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 represent 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Coulsdon solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My wife and I have lately bought a house in Coulsdon. We have since encountered a number of problems with the house which we suspect were missed in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? Can you clarify the type of searches that should have been carried out for conveyancing in Coulsdon?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are unique to conveyancing in Coulsdon. Conveyancing searches and investigations initiated as part of the buying process are designed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a property owner fills in a questionnaire known as a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers ends up being misleading, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Coulsdon.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Coulsdon
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Coulsdon and Solicitor practices in Coulsdon offering conveyancing It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of transferring property. They may both also deal with associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
My wife and I purchasing a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Coulsdon. Our aim is to an extension at the rear at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to determine if these alterations are permitted?
Your conveyancer should check the deeds as conveyancing in Coulsdon will sometimes identify restrictions in the title documents which prevent certain works or necessitated the consent of a 3rd party. Some extensions need local authority planning consent and approval in accordance building regulations. Some locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
I can not fathom if my bank requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Coulsdon bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Coulsdon conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they would not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
Provided that the conveyancing practitioner is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must adhere to the CML Handbook specifications for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company 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 remaining.
A relative suggested that if I am purchasing in Coulsdon I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Coulsdon conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Coulsdon around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Coulsdon Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Coulsdon Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Coulsdon.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Coulsdon?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Coulsdon. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
What tools are available to identify a Coulsdon solicitor on the Barclays Direct conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am willing to travel upto 25miles to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please select a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Coulsdon conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Coulsdon conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can contact them to see if they are on the Barclays Direct member panel