My partner and I are buying a brand new flat in Rainhill and my solicitor is informing me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the seller. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I have no desire to prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Do lawyers request money up-front for my conveyancing in Rainhill?
If you are buying a property in Rainhill your solicitor will request that 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 deposit is payable against the total price then this should be asked for shortly prior to contracts are exchanged. The final balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.
A colleague informed me that in buying a property in Rainhill there may be various restrictions preventing external changes to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Rainhill which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Rainhill should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Is it the case that all Rainhill conveyancing solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Bank of Ireland approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
Clydesdale have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a flat in Rainhill has been accepted, what are the next steps?
Your property agent will want to be informed of your property lawyer's details (make sure the lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Contact Clydesdale or your financial adviser and finalise any outstanding forms. Clydesdale will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or seller to arrange a slot for the valuation to take place. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately ten days to receive the mortgage offer. Clydesdale will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Rainhill.
How does conveyancing in Rainhill differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Rainhill approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because builders in Rainhill usually buy the site, 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 Rainhill or who has acted in the same development.
We're FTB’s - had an offer accepted, yet the agent advised that the seller will only go ahead if we appoint the agent's recommended lawyers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family conveyancer used to conveyancing in Rainhill
It is improbable the vendors are driving this. Should the seller desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a genuine purchaser is counter productive. Contact the sellers directly and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you will continue to instruct your preferred Rainhill conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothe ones that will give the negotiator at the agency a referral fee or achieve conveyancing targets set by corporate headquarters.