I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Gilwern and the EA has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are switching solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Gilwern ?
Lenders have always had panels 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 worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose 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. Your buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
My property lawyer in Gilwern is not on the National Westminster Bank Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the National Westminster Bank panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Gilwern lawyers but National Westminster Bank will need to retain a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the overall legal fees and result in delays.
- Get an alternative solicitor to act in the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Convince your solicitor to do everything within their powers to join the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel
Is it the case that all Gilwern solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Principality. Is it usual for Principality to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Gilwern is approved on their conveyancing panel? Principality have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Principality to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Principality conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Gilwern property lawyer having checked that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Gilwern surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Gilwern?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Gilwern. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one close by in Gilwern I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Gilwern suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
For various reasons I cannot be present at my Gilwern conveyancing lawyers office to execute documents connected to my conveyancing in Gilwern – will this be problematic?
No. Gilwern conveyancing solicitors can undertake home moves for clients across the country. It is not necessary for you to be able to meet your lawyer in the flesh at a Gilwern conveyancers office. Almost all conveyancing practitioner can handle everything via phone, post and email - whatever works for you.