I am one month into the sale of my home in york and the estate agent has just called to warn that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in york ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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 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. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
The owners of the property we are hoping to buy have appointed a conveyancing solicitor in york who has insisted on a lock out contract with a non-refundable deposit 10k. Are such contracts appropriate for york conveyancing transactions?
This type of contract is not the norm in york, conveyancers are not keen on them as they detract from focusing on the main conveyancing focus and if you end up losing your deposit then the lawyer at best left with an upset client and at worst a litigious one. Secondly, there is no assurance that just because the seller has executed an exclusivity contract they will sell to you. They may breach the contract if they are offered a large enough financial inducement to do so because an aggrieved buyer with the benefit of a lockoutcontract will still be duty bound to show losses as a consequence of the breach and these may not compare to the financial benefit that your seller may secure by breaking the agreement, no matter how morally shameful it undoubtedly is.
My Solicitor in york is not on the Chelsea Building Society Solicitor Panel. Can I still use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Chelsea Building Society list of approved lawyers?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing york lawyers but Chelsea Building Society will need to instruct a lawyer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the overall conveyancing charges as well as result in delays.
- Get a new lawyer to to deal with the purchase, not forgetting to check they are Chelsea Building Society approved.
- Persuade your Chelsea Building Society solicitor to attempt to join the Chelsea Building Society panel
We are selling our house in york and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a factory type conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in york. Having lived in york for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in york I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in york for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
My husband and I are 3 weeks into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the estate agent to carry out the conveyancing in york. We are not happy. Can you help me find new solicitors?
They would need to be very poor to suggest replacing them. Has the mortgage been sent? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the replacement conveyancer and ensure the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer should be on the lenders panel to avoid added fees and frustration. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. The search tool can help you find a lender approved lawyer for your home move in york