I am acquiring a house for cash in Paddington. I have lived for the previous 20 years in Paddington. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I know the road and vicinity intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a home loan, then the vast majority of the Paddington conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your conveyancer will ’encourage you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches done, but she has a professional duty to do this. Do take into account; if you are likely to dispose of the house at a future date, it will likely be be of relevance to your future buyer what the searches disclose. There are plenty of instances where properties with day to day issues can still throw up negative search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Paddington should be able to give you some constructive guidance in this regard.
Why do I have to pay up front for my conveyancing in Paddington?
If you are buying a property in Paddington your solicitor will ask you place them with funds to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any down payment is as part of the purchase price then this should be required shortly prior to exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer a few days prior to the completion date.
My grandfather passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Paddington. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £4500. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you plan to refinance then Santander will require that you use a conveyancer on the Santander conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Santander conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Santander mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
How does conveyancing in Paddington differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Paddington contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because house builders in Paddington 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 used to new build conveyancing in Paddington or who has acted in the same development.
Am I right to be wary about estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a web based conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Paddington conveyancing firm?
As is the case with many professional services, often suggestions from relatives can be most helpful. But there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all suggest lawyers to appoint. On occasion these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there might be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are free to select your preferred lawyer. Don't forget that the majority of banks have an approved list of lawyers you must use for the mortgage aspect of your house move.