I am selling my flat in St Helens. Does the property lawyer need to be required to be on the TSB conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the TSB conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently in recent years.
I am helping my niece sell her house in St Helens. Will the solicitor commission the EPC or do I organise this?
After the demise of Home Packs, energy assessments was left as a compulsory part of selling a property. An EPC needs to be commissioned in advance of the property being marketed. It is not a task that solicitors normally arrange. Where you are using a St Helens conveyancing lawyer they might be willing to arrange energy assessments given their contacts with reputable St Helens energy assessors
We were going to get a DIP from Bank of Ireland this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Bank of Ireland recommend any St Helens solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint St Helens solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Bank of Ireland through the process.
My wife and I are in the process of viewing flats in St Helens and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a solicitor appointed at this point? I am planning to take a home loan with Principality.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the estate agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Principality, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in St Helens in advance of instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to grant a loan on this type of premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can investigate further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in St Helens. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in St Helens especially if they are familiar with such properties in St Helens.
How difficult is it to swap solicitor as I have to choose a firm on the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel. I had appointed a family conveyancing solicitor in St Helens five minutes from me but he is not accepted by Alliance & Leicester
It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in St Helens on the Alliance & Leicester panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we work with do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are fully regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in St Helens. In utilising search facility on this page, you can compare charges for conveyancing solicitors in St Helens and throughout England and Wales.
Why do I have to supply my lawyer with a list of items of identification ahead of starting selling or purchasing a property in St Helens?
St Helens solicitors are obliged by the Law Society, SRA, the Land Registry and current Money Laundering Regulations to record that the have checked the identity of their clients. It is also sometimes a requirement of your mortgage offer. Furthermore they have to complete various forms, particularly those relating to Land Tax and need to have details such as your full names, national insurance number and DOB.