I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Deptford and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are appointing a new law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named lender only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Deptford ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says 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. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Do banks and building societies provide you with an approved list of Deptford conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the Santander conveyancing panel?
Deptford conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Santander directly.
I am selling my apartment in Deptford. Does the lawyer have to be required to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently at the moment.
Will our conveyancer be raising questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Deptford.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in Deptford. Plenty of people will purchase a house in Deptford, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Deptford. The standard information supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the seller to find out whether the property has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser may commence a compensation claim resulting from an inaccurate response. The buyer’s solicitors should also conduct an enviro search. This should higlight whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be conducted.
I am purchasing a new build house in Deptford with a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative told me not disclose to my lawyer about this deal as it could adversely affect my loan with the lender. 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.
Taking into account that I will soon part with £400,000 on a two bedroom apartment in Deptford I would like to talk to a lawyer concerning thehouse move ahead of instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
Absolutely - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer who will be conducting your property ownership legalities in Deptford.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a case number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Deptford should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.