I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Rowen and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Rowen ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal 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. Plenty of firms 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.
My god-son is about to exchange on a newly built flat in Rowen with a home loan from Nationwide. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Are the BSA intent on creating a search tool with a view to to identify solicitors on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel for instance in Rowen?
We are not aware of any plans on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility.
A friend suggested that where I am buying in Rowen I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Rowen conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Rowen 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, Rowen Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Rowen.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Rowen 4 years ago have long since closed. What are my options?
Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be evidenced by HMLR under a Title Number. It is possible to carry out a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and secure current copies of the property title for a small fee. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for twenty pounds.
Is it true that a Rowen conveyancing firm has court proceedings brought against them by clients for not carrying out the right conveyancing searches?
We are not aware of such a Rowen conveyancing matter but it has been reported that, a couple purchasing a property elsewhere in England successfully won a case against their conveyancer due to development permission to build a wind farm not being picked up in conveyancing searches.
If you are buying in Rowen It is important that your solicitor conduct all Rowen conveyancing searches required to ensure you have relevant and current information ahead of acquiring a home in Rowen.