We are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Mirfield with a mortgage. We have a Mirfield solicitor, however the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Mirfield lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We consider that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Mirfield conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
At what point will exchange of contracts occur in residential conveyancing in Mirfield and am I required to be at the lawyers branch?
If you are in close proximity to our conveyancing solicitors in Mirfield you are invited in to sign the paperwork. However, the law practices we recommend provide countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give just as detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you digitally. The executing of the purchase agreement is not when everything is set in stone. Signing on the dotted line is necessary for the conveyancer to address the formalities at the suitable time, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where an extended "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Mirfield)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Mirfield for our home move. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage company Coventry Building Society won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Mortgage Companies on the whole imposes restrictions either the category or the volume of conveyancing practices on their member panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must have two or more partners. As well as restricting the profile of firm, some have reduced the amount of solicitor practices they use to act for them. You should note that Coventry Building Society have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Coventry Building Society Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of solicitor panels a few years ago even though there are mixed opinions about the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Mirfield only perform very few conveyances per annum.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Mirfield 4 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
Assuming the title is registered the details of your proprietorship will be held by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and order current copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Mirfield is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in Mirfield are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Mirfield you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Mirfield may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
My brother has urged me to use his conveyancing solicitors in Mirfield. Do I take his guidance?
There are no two ways about it the best way to find a conveyancing practitioner is to get referrals from friends or relatives who have previously instructed the firm that you are are thinking of instructing.