I am expecting a mortgage with Nat West. I hope to instruct a Licensed Conveyancer in Biddenham. Does the Nat West Conveyancing panel allow for Licensed Conveyancers?
The Nat West conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the CML or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.
Do conveyancers request an advanced payment for conveyancing in Biddenham?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Biddenham your lawyer will request that you put them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Generally this is needed to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the down payment is as part of the purchase price then this should be needed shortly before contracts are exchanged. The final balance that is due should be transferred a few days prior to the day of completion.
My lawyer in Biddenham has never been on on the Bank of Scotland Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my prefered solicitor even though they are not on the Bank of Scotland list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Biddenham lawyers but Bank of Scotland will need to retain a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall conveyancing charges and cause delays.
- Find an alternative lawyer to to deal with the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are on the Bank of Scotland panel
A relative advised me that where I am buying in Biddenham I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Biddenham conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Biddenham around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Biddenham Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Biddenham.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Biddenham with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it may jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I have been advised by a couple of local selling agents in Biddenham to choose a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your lawyers rather than another?
We don’t give any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.