I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Lyddington and the estate agent has just called to warn that the buyers are appointing a new law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Lyddington ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Banks point to the increase 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 says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some 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 not going to have any impact on this.
I currently have a mortgage with Nationwide for my property in Lyddington. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Nationwide?
Your original mortgage agreement with Nationwide will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Nationwide will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nationwide directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel lawyer.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Lyddington. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Clydesdale. Is it usual for Clydesdale to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Lyddington is approved on their conveyancing panel? Clydesdale have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Clydesdale to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I have been told that property searches are the main reason for hinderance in Lyddington house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Lyddington.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Lyddington?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Lyddington. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Are there any apps to help identify a Lyddington law firm on the Yorkshire Building Society conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am willing to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the tool on this website. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Lyddington conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Lyddington conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to verify if they are on the Yorkshire Building Society approved list
I am due to review estimates for conveyancing in Lyddington from three property lawyer and decide on one. Am I right to instruct them to hold tight until I a suitable apartment to buy.
You should only get your conveyancing practitioner to open a file and order searches after the offer has been agreed to on the property especially as Lyddington conveyancing searches are costly.