I am 4 weeks into the sale of my house in Penley and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Penley ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Our lawyer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Penley. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer says that he must check that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
Even though you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the bank are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to.
Are all Penley Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
A selection of banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.
Intending to buy a maisonette in Penley. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Penley conveyancing practitioner is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.
My offer was accepted on a house in Penley on 3/4/2024, valuation was booked 4 days after, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to RBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the RBS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for RBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the RBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
My colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Penley I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Penley conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Penley around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Penley.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Penley is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Penley are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Penley you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Penley 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 premises.
In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Penley what are the most common lease defects?
Leasehold conveyancing in Penley is not unique. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
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Insurance obligations
You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Barnsley Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.
Penley Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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It is important to be aware whether window replacement or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and will materially increase the the maintenance charges or require a one off payment. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? This information is useful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have all the details