My partner and I are purchasing a new build flat in Lee and my solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to sign contracts and I have no desire to delay deal. 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 bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Lee. I have a mortgage offer with RBS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with RBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Lee. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £200. A few days later, the solicitor called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Aldermore panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Yorkshire BS are being pedantic. The Lee solicitor who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Yorkshire BS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Yorkshire BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Yorkshire BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Yorkshire BS 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.
How does conveyancing in Lee differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Lee approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Lee tend to acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Lee or who has acted in the same development.
My cousin has urged me to use his lawyers for conveyancing in Lee. Should I use them?
There are no two ways about it it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to have referrals from friends or family who have actually experience in using the firm you're contemplating using.
The mortgage broker has suggested using their conveyancing practitioner for my conveyancing in Lee - Surely it’s better to just instruct them?
It is worth checking if the selling agent is recommending a conveyancing practitioner or introducing to a property lawyer. There are plenty of Lee estate agents who recommend two or three Lee conveyancing firms and get nothing from it.