My wife and I are planning to purchase a property in Handsworth and have instructed a Handsworth conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Leeds Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Handsworth lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Handsworth solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Handsworth costs more?
Handsworth leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is suspended from the Clydesdale Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Handsworth?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. 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 purchasing a new build house in Handsworth with a loan from Santander. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my lawyer about this extras as it will put at risk my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Handsworth for my house move. Is it possible to check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
One can see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find details Pre 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes recorded telephone calls for training requirements.
My wife and I have appointed a Handsworth conveyancing solicitor for our home move (novice purchasers) and have picked up in the engagement letter that they are not covered by the FCA. Should I be concerned or is that usually the case with conveyancer?
We can't see why they should be. Most solicitor don't lend money. You should check that they are regulated by the SRA, who dictate specific conditions in place on funds sitting on client account.