I am in the process of selling my flat in De Beauvoir Town and the EA has just text me to warn that the buyers are switching solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few 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 decades.
Lenders justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. 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.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the HSBC Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town?
First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
We were going to get a OIP from UBS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do UBS recommend any De Beauvoir Town solicitors on the UBS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint De Beauvoir Town solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the UBS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and UBS through the process.
Intending to buy a flat in De Beauvoir Town. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Santander conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the De Beauvoir Town property lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel.
My offer was accepted on a house in De Beauvoir Town on 10/10/2023, valuation was booked 4 days after, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Yorkshire BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Yorkshire BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Is it necessary to take out insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a house in De Beauvoir Town?
Unless a prior purchase of the property took place after 12 October 2013 you can take it that solicitors handling conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house can not be found. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town 4 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be documented by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and get current copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.
Am I better off to use a De Beauvoir Town conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? An old friend can carry out the legal formalities but her office is 300miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a local De Beauvoir Town conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, present your identification documents and pester them if necessary. Having local De Beauvoir Town know how is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were happy that should outweigh using an unfamiliar De Beauvoir Town conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.