I am buying a newly constructed flat in Thornhill and my solicitor is advising me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I have no desire to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your 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 I need to visit the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Thornhill so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
As opposed to twenty years ago, almost all mortgage companies no longer oblige their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the borrowers signature. It will still be necessary for you to supply ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to instructing a local practitioner, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Thornhill.
Will my solicitor be making enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Thornhill.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Thornhill. Some people will acquire a property in Thornhill, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Thornhill. The conventional set of property information forms given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard question of the seller to determine whether the premises has historically flooded. In the event that the property has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser could bring a legal claim for losses resulting from an incorrect answer. A buyer’s conveyancers should also commission an enviro report. This should higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be initiated.
How does conveyancing in Thornhill differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Thornhill approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because builders in Thornhill tend to purchase 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 conveyancers 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 Thornhill or who has acted in the same development.
My 20yr old son is embarking on her first house purchase, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. One the seller agreed the offer on the house we called the mortgage institution to progress the mortgage application. We were disappointed to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all lawyer, they have to be on a list, is this correct?
Mortgage Companies normally imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Thornhill conveyancing practitioner on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.