I am nearing exchange of contracts for my house in Sandwich and the EA has just called to warn that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Sandwich ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.
Lenders attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Our lender has recommended a law firm on their panel based in Sandwich but I would rather choose a conveyancing lawyer in Sandwich local to me. Are you able to assist?
It is by no means the case that all Sandwich conveyancing practices are approved and listed on all lender’s conveyancing panel. Use our search tool to choose a Sandwich conveyancing firm on the on the lender panel.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Sandwich
There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Sandwich and Solicitor firms in Sandwich to choose from We would stress that the two are regulated professionals specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. They may both also deal with other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.
We had instructed conveyancers with offices in Sandwich on the RBS solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional sum for the legal aspects of the RBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by RBS?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by RBS but by your Sandwich conveyancing practitioner. Numerous firms on the RBS panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Kent Reliance. I assume I don't need a Sandwich solicitor on the Kent Reliance panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance mortgage from the register. Kent Reliance, 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 Kent Reliance has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Kent Reliance has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I am purchasing my first flat in Sandwich with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my conveyancer about the deal as it would put at risk my mortgage with The Mortgage Works. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Sandwich to find a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to market your site ahead of another?
We don’t offer any commission for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Sandwich. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.
If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Sandwich - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Sandwich - Sample of Queries before buying
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How much is the ground rent and service charge? The majority of Sandwich leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building set by the freeholder. If you purchase the flat you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly during the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a large figure, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the tenants?