My fiance and I are hoping to buy a property in Harmondsworth and have appointed a Harmondsworth conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Britannia have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Harmondsworth solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 property lawyer 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 bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Harmondsworth solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am selling my flat in Harmondsworth. Will the solicitor have to be required to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the HSBC conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently at the moment.
This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as a first time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Harmondsworth. Do I collect the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Harmondsworth?
On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Harmondsworth. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the owner’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you should be able to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from HSBC as we want to carry out improvements to our property in Harmondsworth. Are we obliged to appoint a high street Harmondsworth solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
HSBC do not ordinarily require firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the HSBC panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Harmondsworth conveyancer having checked that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS 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 Harmondsworth 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.
How does conveyancing in Harmondsworth differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Harmondsworth approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because developers in Harmondsworth typically buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Harmondsworth or who has acted in the same development.
Are there any apps to assist me to search for a Harmondsworth solicitor on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am willing to travel upto 20miles to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the tool on this page. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Harmondsworth conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Harmondsworth conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to see if they are on the Nationwide Building Society approved list
My father has suggested that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in Harmondsworth. Do I take his guidance?
No doubt it’s preferable to select a conveyancing practitioner is to seek referrals from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor you're contemplating using.