My husband and I are hoping to purchase a house in Southfields and are in fact using a Southfields conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Skipton Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Southfields solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 solicitor 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Southfields lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
What will a local search reveal regarding the property we're buying in Southfields?
Southfields conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance Xpress Legal The local search plays an important role in most Southfields conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should provide information 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 13 subject areas.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Southfields is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Southfields are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Southfields you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Southfields may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
Am I best advised to go with a Southfields conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? We have a good friend who can perform the legal work but her office is 200miles away.
The benefit of a local Southfields conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign documents, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Southfields know how is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and in the main were happy that must outweigh using an unknown Southfields conveyancing lawyer just because they are Southfields based.
How much experience do your Southfields conveyancing solicitors have with Help To Buy, Shared Equity and similar schemes?
Southfields conveyancing lawyers help thousands of people move home every year and helped lots of clients through the Help To Buy scheme. The chances are that whatever makes your case unique Southfields conveyancers have worked on recent similar cases.