I am one month into the sale of my maisonette in Leeds and the EA has just called to warn that the purchasers are switching law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Leeds ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.
Lending institutions justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – 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 says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise 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.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Leeds? Why is this being asked of me?
In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Leeds conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill showing your correct address.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancers are required to check not only the identity of conveyancing clients but also the origin of monies that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this may lead to your conveyancer cancelling their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your conveyancers are duty bound to inform the relevant authorities should they consider that any amounts received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.
After looking at consumer advice sites for a conveyancing lawyer in Leeds, most say that I must use a CQS accredited solicitor. Can you explain what CQS is?
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a kitemark for residential conveyancing practices issued by the Law Society. Membership achievement establishes a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders (regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon: * the integrity of the senior responsible officer and other key conveyancing staff * the firm's adherence to good practice management standards * adherence to prudent and efficient conveyancing processes through the scheme protocol the standard covers numerous firms who carry out conveyancing in Leeds.
My husband and I are FTB’s - had an offer accepted, but the selling agent told us that the owners will only proceed if we use the agent's chosen solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a high street conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in Leeds
We suspect that the seller is not behind this ultimatum. Should the seller desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Try to communicate with the sellers directly and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to instruct your preferred Leeds conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide their estate agent a referral fee or achieve conveyancing thresholds demanded by head office.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Leeds. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as normal as all ground rent and maintenance invoices should be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I own a basement flat in Leeds, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Leeds with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2087
With only 64 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
Can you recommend a trustworthy Leeds conveyancing practitioner for purchasing an apartment? A relative recommended one but their quote was £995 plus VAT for a 175k property. That seems high. The mortgage company will be RBS.
LenderPanel.com is limited to being a directory service for conveyancers who want to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for RBS in certain locations such as Leeds . Our intention is not to recommend any specific conveyancer.