I am nearing exchange of contracts for my maisonette in Brentford and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Brentford ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened 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 being contacted daily by practices 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My Solicitor in Brentford is not on the The Mortgage Works Approved Panel. Can I still retain my prefered solicitor even though they are excluded from the The Mortgage Works approved list?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Brentford solicitors but The Mortgage Works will need to instruct a lawyer on their panel. This will result in additional overall legal fees as well as cause delays.
- Find a new lawyer to to deal with the purchase, obviously checking they are The Mortgage Works approved.
- Persuade your The Mortgage Works based solicitor to try to join the The Mortgage Works panel
What will a local search inform me about the house we're purchasing in Brentford?
Brentford conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for instance Onsearch The local search is essential in every Brentford conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic areas.
I used Action Conveyancing several years ago for my conveyancing in Brentford. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Brentford of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I decided to have a survey done on a property in Brentford in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Brentford. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
What tools are available to locate a Brentford law firm on the The Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel? I have a car and am happy to travel upto 20kilometers to meet the solicitor.
You can use the tool on this page. Please select a lender and your location and you will see a number of Brentford conveyancing lawyers locally. We have detailed some Brentford conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can call them to see whether they are on the The Royal Bank of Scotland panel
