Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in March is not listed on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of her work?
That is more than likely an incorrect assumption to make. There are plenty of plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the March conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
My Solicitor in March has never been on on the HSBC Bank Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the HSBC Bank panel?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your existing March solicitors but HSBC Bank will need to use a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall conveyancing fees as well as cause delays.
- Find an alternative practitioner to act in the conveyancing, remembering to check they are HSBC Bank approved.
- Persuade your HSBC Bank based solicitor to attempt to join the HSBC Bank panel
I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in March ahead of appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will refuse to give a loan on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Nationwide. If you call us we can investigate further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in March. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in March to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
How do I use your search tool to find a conveyancing practitioner in March on the panel for my bank?
Step one is to select a mortgage company such as Birmingham Midshires, Skipton Building Society or Nottingham Building Society then type in your location such as March. Conveyancing practices in March and across England and Wales will then be shown.
As co-executor for the will of my grandmother I am disposing of a house in Neath but reside in March. My solicitor (approximately 235 miles awayneeds me to execute a statutory declaration prior to completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in March who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are based in March
We are expecting to exchange buying a property in March but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have negotiated reparation from the vendor of £3k taking the form of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process yet the mortgage company will not agree to this. Why were they informed?
Any solicitor that is on a lender approved list is obliged to inform the lender of any changes to the sale amount. In the event that you were to refuse your solicitor to report the reduction to your mortgage company then they would need to discontinue acting for you and the bank.