I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Garforth and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Garforth ?
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 represented them for decades.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – 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. 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 unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Garforth? What am I being asked for?
To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Garforth conveyancing firm will require proof of identity in all conveyancing matters. This is usually satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account evidencing your correct address.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancing solicitors are required to validate not simply the identity of conveyancing clients but also the origin of monies that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this may lead to your lawyer ending their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your conveyancers will have an obligation to make a disclosure to the relevant authorities should they consider that any amounts received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house are lost. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Garforth 10 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
Gone are the days when you need to hold title original deeds to prove you are the owner of your registered land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Garforth ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend not give a mortgage on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Garforth. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Garforth to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
What tools are available to locate a Garforth solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel? I have a car and am happy to travel upto 20miles to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the search on this page. Please choose the mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Garforth conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Garforth conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can contact them to check if they are on the Santander approved list
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Garforth for my sale. Is it possible to see a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
You can read published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could recorded telephone calls for training requirements.