I am nearing exchange of contracts for my house in Paddington and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are changing their solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Paddington ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
We have very assertive vendors who has insisted on a exclusivity contract with a payment two thousand pounds. Are such agreements generally advanced for Paddington conveyancing transactions?
Lock out contracts are agreements binding a property owner and purchaser giving the buyer exclusive rights to purchase the property within a prescribed time frame. Essentially, an exclusivity is a document stating that you will have a contract at a later time being the main conveyancing contract. It tends to be used for buyer assurance though in some cases, the proprietor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are various pros and cons to having them but you need to check with your conveyancer but note that it may end up costing you extra in conveyancing fees. In light of these reasons these agreements are rare in relation to conveyancing in Paddington.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is removed from the Principality Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Paddington?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. 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 at a cost.
I am assisting my step-mother sell her property in Paddington. Does the conveyancing solicitor arrange an energy assessment or it is for the seller to see to?
After the demise of Home Packs, energy performance certificates remained a required element of selling a property. An EPC needs to be to hand before the property is marketed. This is not a task that law firms ordinarily organise. If you are using a Paddington conveyancing practitioner they might be able to arrange energy assessments given their contacts with reputable Paddington accredited person
It is unclear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called my Paddington bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Paddington conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the conveyancing practitioner is on the bank panel, they must comply with the CML Handbook provisions for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
My offer was accepted on an apartment in Paddington on 27/9/2023, valuation was booked five days after, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Clydesdale and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Are Clydesdale entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage 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.
My colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Paddington I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Paddington conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Paddington around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Paddington Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Paddington.
Is it possible to switch firm as I have to retain a firm on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. I was using a family conveyancing solicitor in Paddington five minutes from me but she is not approved by Aldermore
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Paddington on the Aldermore panel. Please note that the solicitors that we list do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are fully regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Paddington. In utilising search facility on this page, you can scrutinise costs for conveyancing solicitors in Paddington and throughout England and Wales.