Please help. My Wednesbury solicitor is informing me me that he is legally obliged toapply for Wednesbury conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Santanderapproved lawyer panel. Is this really necessary?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a home loan with a bank your property lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Wednesbury conveyancing searches.
My uncle passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Wednesbury. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
If you plan to refinance then Santander will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Santander conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Santander conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Santander mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Wednesbury. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we will need to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Is it correct that all Wednesbury CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the TSB conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
Some major banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their panels.
I currently have a mortgage with Kent Reliance for my property in Wednesbury. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Kent Reliance?
Your original mortgage agreement with Kent Reliance will provide that you need their approval prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Kent Reliance’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 Kent Reliance directly. You need not do this via a Kent Reliance conveyancing panel lawyer.
How simple is it to switch conveyancer as I need to choose one who is on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing list. I had appointed a local conveyancing solicitor in Wednesbury five minutes from me but she is not approved by Bank of Scotland
It would be our pleasure to assist you select a conveyancing solicitor in Wednesbury on the Bank of Scotland panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we list do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Wednesbury. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this website, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Wednesbury.
Am I better off to instruct a Wednesbury conveyancing solicitor based in the area that I am buying? An old friend can deal with the legal work however his firm is located approximately 350miles away.
The primary upside of using a local Wednesbury conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, hand in your ID and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and they were content that must trump using an unknown Wednesbury conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.
My brother mentioned that before selecting a conveyancing lawyer they must be approved by your mortgage company. It happens to be my first house move but I have an offer in principle via Halifax and I already have a bricks and morter conveyancing solicitor in Wednesbury lined up. Does Halifax require an approved solicitor to be instructed? If so, where do I find that list so I can choose a conveyancing lawyer in Wednesbury?
You need to use a solicitor that is on the Halifax panel. The first thing to do is call your preferred Wednesbury conveyancing solicitor and ask if they are on the Halifax panel. If they are not approved you have a couple of options available to you here:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Wednesbury conveyancer but Halifax will no doubt retain a conveyancing practitioner from their approved panel. The net impact is additional charges together with probable delay.
- Choose a fresh property lawyer to conduct the conveyancing, not forgetting to check that they are on the Halifax conveyancing panel.
- Convince your property lawyer to pull out all the stops to get listed on the Halifax conveyancing panel.