I am in the process of selling my home in Horncastle and the estate agent has just called to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Horncastle ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Banks attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – 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 impact on this.
The owners have rather assertive sellers who has suggested a lock out contract with a deposit two thousand pounds. Are such arrangements promoted for Horncastle conveyancing transactions?
This type of arrangement is not the norm in Horncastle, conveyancers are not keen on them as they divert attention from the primary focus, namely conveyancing and if you end up losing your deposit then the solicitor is left exposed. Secondly, there is no certainty that just because the owner has entered into an exclusivity agreement they will sell to you. They may be in contravention of the agreement if they receive sufficient financial inducement to do so because an aggrieved purchaser with the benefit of a exclusivitycontract will still have to show losses as a consequence of the breach and this may not equalise the extra amount that the owner may secure by breaking the agreement, however morally reprehensible it undoubtedly is.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Horncastle. I have a mortgage offer with Nottingham. 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 Nottingham, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Horncastle. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £225. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner called me to say that they were not on the Barclays 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 Barclays 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.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in January 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Santander are being difficult. The Horncastle solicitor who is on the Santander conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Santander are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Santander have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Santander have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Santander may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I am looking for a flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Horncastle I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Horncastle in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
Am I better off to choose a Horncastle conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can perform the legal work but they are based 200kilometers away.
The benefit of a high street Horncastle conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Horncastle know how is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have instructed your friend and they were impressed that must surpass using an unfamiliar Horncastle conveyancing solicitor just because they are local.
I previously informed by my bank that their approved lawyers operate no completion no fee basis for conveyancing in Horncastle. Our purchase fell through nevertheless the lawyers have requested search fees! They are stating that the fees are nothing to do with their fees!
Horncastle conveyancing search fees are disbursements not solicitors costs as these are due to independent parties.