My wife and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Oldbury and have appointed a Oldbury conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Britannia have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Oldbury lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Oldbury solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We're in Oldbury, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Lloyds , and our lawyer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I am due to move house in February. Should my conveyancing solicitor communicate with the removal company on the completion day. On a separate note, can you recommend a removal company in Oldbury. Conveyancing lawyer was chosen before I stumbled across your website.
On the afternoon of completion you can collect the house keys from your selling agent but this should only happen when the vendors lawyers advise the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be released. You should tell the removal company that you are ready to move in. We do not suggest a particular removal organisation but can help you choose a conveyancing in Oldbury or a firm that specialises in conveyancing in Oldbury.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Lloyds, do Oldbury conveyancing practitioners face a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
My offer on a detached house in Oldbury has been agreed to, the sellers do however have a tied purchase. The owners have offered on somewhere, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Oldbury. What should be my next step? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Skipton?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Oldbury conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you must check that your solicitor is on the Skipton approved list. Concerning the subsequent steps this very much depends on the uniqueness of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market the majority of buyers will apply for the mortgage with Skipton and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancing practitioner to press on with searches.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Oldbury I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Oldbury for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
How simple is it to use your search app to locate a conveyancing solicitor in Oldbury on the approved list for my mortgage?
Step one is to select a mortgage company such as Accord Mortgages Ltd, Bank of Scotland or Britannia then type in your location e.g. Oldbury. Conveyancing organisations in Oldbury and further afield will then be identified.