My partner and I are buying a leasehold flat in Lake. My lawyer is not on the lender conveyancing list. Am I still permitted to continue with my Lake conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the bank list of approved lawyers?
Your options include
- Proceed with your chosen Lake lawyer but your lender will no doubt retain a property lawyer from their approved panel. This will result in additional charges together with potential interruption.
- Get a fresh conveyancer to conduct the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Convince your lawyer to pull out all the stops to get listed on the bank’s conveyancing panel
Our conveyancer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Lake. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer says that he must check that the lender is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Lake for our house purchase. Our financial adviser informed us that our bank National Westminster Bank won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
Before the recession most banks had a different appetite for risk. Almost all Lake conveyancing firms would have been on most mortgage company panels. The FSA in 2010 carried out a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, lenders are increasingly seeing more data from law firms concerning their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum volume of transactions. Many Lake conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have Unblemished track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Lake is one of the thousands of areas where the lawyers we recommend are are approved National Westminster Bank.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Nationwide as we wish to conduct improvements to our property in Lake. Do we need to appoint a nearby Lake solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Nationwide do not ordinarily require firms on their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nationwide list.
I have paid off my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Lake property lawyer on the Aldermore panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Aldermore mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Aldermore mortgage from the register. Aldermore, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Aldermore has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Aldermore has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Planning on purchasing a flat in Lake. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Lake lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.
I am purchasing a new build house in Lake benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not inform my solicitor about the deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
In surfing the internet for the term conveyancing in Lake it shows results of many property lawyersin the area. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right solicitor for the sale of my house?
The best way of seeking the right conveyancer is through a trusted referral, so ask colleagues and those you trust who have purchased a property in Lake or a local estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in Lake differ, so it's sensible to secure a minimum of four estimates from varying types of law firms. Make sure that you know that the fees are fixed.