I am selling my house in Gwynedd and the EA has just text me to advise that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Gwynedd ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed 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 says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Bank of Ireland. Gwynedd conveyancing lawyers have been instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Bank of Ireland?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Bank of Ireland conducted the valuation? Have you informed Bank of Ireland as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Gwynedd. I have a mortgage offer with Barclays. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Gwynedd. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the solicitor called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Santander conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Santander panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My partner and I are downsizing from our house in Gwynedd and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Gwynedd lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Gwynedd. Having lived in Gwynedd for many years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? 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 ailment)
Hoping to buy a property located in Gwynedd and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Gwynedd. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Gwynedd area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Gwynedd. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Gwynedd. I happened to chance upon a web site which looks to be the perfect offering If there is a chance to get all the legals done via email that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Do I have to pop into the offices of the lender conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Gwynedd as it will be easier to attend their offices if necessary.
As opposed to ten years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Gwynedd.