I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Lapworth and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the purchasers are swapping law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Lapworth ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal 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. Some 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 not going to have any impact on this.
Our lawyer has identified a a problem with the lease for the property we are buying in Lapworth. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer has advised that he must ensure that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. 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 lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to visit the offices of the solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Lapworth so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
As opposed to twenty years ago, the vast majority lenders no longer need their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide identification documents and there are still manifest benefits to using a locally based solicitor, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Lapworth.
Is it correct that all Lapworth CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Santander conveyancing panel?
Some major lenders now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
When it comes to lenders such as Co-operative, do Lapworth property lawyers incur a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Lapworth. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £175. Shortly after, the conveyancer called me to say that they were not on the Principality 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 Principality 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 have recentlydiscovered that Stirling Law have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Lapworth for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest way to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Lapworth conveyancing specialists.
I am looking for a conveyancing lawyer in Lapworth for my sale. Can I see a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public can search for published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor call for training reasons.