I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette in Ouston and the estate agent has just text me to advise that the buyers are changing their solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Ouston ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. 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. 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 unlikely to have any impact on this.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Yorkshire BS Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Ouston?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
I have a terraced Edwardian house in Ouston. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Ouston and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the work.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Ouston prior to appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor has said that some banks will not issue a loan on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Ouston. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Taking into account that I am about to part with £400,000 on a garden flat in Ouston I wish to talk to a conveyancer regarding thetransaction before instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
This is something that we encourage - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer due to be carrying out your conveyancing in Ouston.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique person, not a file reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Ouston should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.
As co-executor for the will of my grandmother I am disposing of a residence in Swansea but live in Ouston. My solicitor (approximately 260 miles from mehas requested that I sign a stat dec before completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Ouston to attest and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Ouston based