I am in the process of selling my house in Partington and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Partington ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Lenders blame a rise 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 being contacted daily by practices 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 sway in the decision.
My grandfather passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Partington. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to RBS, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you plan to refinance then RBS will require that you use a conveyancer on the RBS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your RBS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the RBS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I am assisting my sister sell her flat in Partington. Will the conveyancer order an EPC or it is for me to see to?
After the abolition of HIPs, energy assessments remained a mandatory component of selling a property. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned in advance of the property being marketed. This is not something that law firms normally organise. Where you are using a Partington conveyancing solicitor they may be willing to arrange energy assessments due to their contacts with long established Partington accredited person
We expect to receive a OIP from Leeds Building Society this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Leeds Building Society recommend any Partington solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Partington solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Leeds Building Society through the process.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Nationwide. I assume I don't need a Partington conveyancing practitioner on the Nationwide panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Nationwide mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Nationwide mortgage from the register. Nationwide, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Nationwide has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Nationwide has instructed the Land Registry to do so
What does a local search inform me concerning the property my wife and I purchasing in Partington?
Partington conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance Searchflow The local search is essential in every Partington conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject sections.
I got the keys to my house on 1 August and the transaction details is not yet registered. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Partington advises it should be registered in a couple of weeks. Are titles in Partington particularly slow to register?
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Partington registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can differ depending on who lodges the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry communicate with any third persons or bodies. As of today approximately 80% of such applications are fully dealt with within two weeks but occasionally there can be longer hold-ups. Historically registration is effected once the purchaser has moved in to the premises so an expedited registration is not usually primary concern but if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor must communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.
My husband and I are a fortnight into a residential purchase having been referred to a firm by the local agent to handle our conveyancing in Partington. I am am extremely frustrated with the quality of service. Could you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?
They would need to be very bad in order to consider diss instructing them. Has the mortgage offer been sent? In the event that it has you will need to advise them of the new contact details and have the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your new solicitor ideally needs to be on the lenders approved list to avoid escalating charges and complications. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. The find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a bank approved lawyer for your home move in Partington