I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Tunbridge Wells and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are switching law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Tunbridge Wells ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 25 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say 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. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Tunbridge Wells
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Tunbridge Wells and Solicitor practices in Tunbridge Wells offering conveyancing We would stress that both are regulated professionals specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. Both can conduct associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
Please help - my lawyer advises that flying freehold insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Tunbridge Wells conveyancing?
The appropriate level of flying freehold indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between HSBC Bank and Coventry Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
I currently have a mortgage with Barclays for my property in Tunbridge Wells. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Barclays?
You must advise Barclays in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Barclays’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Barclays directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor.
Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may affect a commercial estate in Tunbridge Wells?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Tunbridge Wells will order a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers spend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Tunbridge Wells. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Tunbridge Wells.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Tunbridge Wells it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately may cause delays to Tunbridge Wells commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for domestic conveyancing in Tunbridge Wells.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Tunbridge Wells before retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks will not grant a loan on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Tunbridge Wells. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Tunbridge Wells to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
As co-executor for the will of my grandmother I am selling a property in Swansea but I am based in Tunbridge Wells. My conveyancer (based 260 kilometers from merequires that I execute a statutory declaration before completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Tunbridge Wells to attest this legal document for me?
Technically speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are located in Tunbridge Wells
Our property lawyer in Tunbridge Wells has requested from me identification documents stating that this forms part of his requirements as a solicitor on the lender Conveyancing panel. Can you confirm whether this is the case?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the lender. This is not specific to conveyancing in Tunbridge Wells