My wife and I are looking to acquire a home in Romiley and are in fact using a Romiley conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Romiley conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Romiley lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
IfI was to buy a straightforward homein Romiley mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no conveyancing searches how much would I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Romiley?
The only reduction in fees you would make on is the Romiley conveyancing searches. A conveyancer still got to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with your sellers lawyer, SDLT return, register the title etc. A marginal saving might be made by not needing to register a mortgage however it will not be a lot.
My Solicitor in Romiley has never been on on the Leeds Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my prefered solicitor even though they are not on the Leeds Building Society list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Romiley solicitors but Leeds Building Society will need to use a lawyer on their panel. This will result in additional total legal fees as well as cause delays.
- Choose a new lawyer to act in the purchase, remembering to check they are Persuade your conveyancer to use their best endeavours to join the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with TSB. Romiley conveyancing lawyers are instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from TSB?
There is no definitive answer here. Have TSB completed the valuation? Have you informed TSB as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the TSB conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Romiley. I have a mortgage agreed with Virgin Money. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Romiley. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are a common cause of delay in Romiley house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Romiley.
Two months into purchasing a residence in Romiley. Conveyancing lawyer has told us the property is "Leasehold". Should this make a difference on our Santander valuation?
Romiley conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The main consideration here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a nominal rent, it's almost the same as freehold, so it’s unlikely to affect the marketability too much.
At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, Sixty years it is bound to have a significant impact on the value, and most likely wouldn't be mortgageable. The length of lease and ground rent will be specified in the lease provided to your lawyer.