I am buying a newly constructed duplex in Cottenham Park and my lawyer is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
My house in Cottenham Park is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will my property lawyer have to be required to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently currently.
My wife and I have arranged a further advance on our home loan from Coventry BS as we intend to conduct alterations to our home in Cottenham Park. Do we need to select a high street Cottenham Park solicitor on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Coventry BS would not normally require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Coventry BS panel.
I am buying a property in Cottenham Park. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Co-operative be concerned?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Co-operative your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Co-operative. The CML Handbook includes minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Co-operative where a lease does not satisfy these provisions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Cottenham Park.
We expect to receive a DIP from Lloyds this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Lloyds recommend any Cottenham Park solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Cottenham Park solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Lloyds through the process.
What does a local search inform me concerning the house my wife and I buying in Cottenham Park?
Cottenham Park conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Searches UK The local search plays an important role in many a Cottenham Park conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject headings.
Is it best to appoint a Cottenham Park conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can deal with the legal formalities but her office is over three hundred miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Cottenham Park conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to execute paperwork, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Cottenham Park know how is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and on the whole were content that must outweigh using an unknown Cottenham Park conveyancing solicitor just because they are local.