I am one month into the sale of my house in Fulwell and the estate agent has just text me to warn that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender 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 appoint to handle their conveyancing in Fulwell ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Mortgage companies attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say 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 do not even realise 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 not going to have any impact on this.
At what point can the exchange of contracts occur in sale conveyancing in Fulwell and do I need to be at the lawyers office?
If you are near to our conveyancing solicitors in Fulwell you are welcome to come in to sign the paperwork. That being said, the firms we work with provide a national conveyancing service and provide as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you electronically. The executing of the contract is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the firm to officially exchange when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Fulwell)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Kent Reliance Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Fulwell?
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.
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Fulwell and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A high street Fulwell lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed a national conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Fulwell. We have lived in Fulwell for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to seek confirmation need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of 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 illness)
3 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Fulwell completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Fulwell ahead of instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Fulwell. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.