I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Sidcup. I I am struggling to find out whether they are accepted on the Santander conveyancing panel. Could you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
The first thing to do is e-mail the lawyer and enquire whether they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you can get in touch with Santander who may be able to confirm.
We are buying a house in Sidcup. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to deposit our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
We previously chose conveyancers based in Sidcup on the Virgin Money solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a supplemental amount for dealing with the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Virgin Money?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor is entitled to charge a fee for this. The fee is not set by Virgin Money but by your Sidcup lawyer. Numerous firms on the Virgin Money panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many practices include it on their overall fee.
Lloyds have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a house in Sidcup has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will need to be informed of your conveyancing practitioner's details (ensure that the solicitors are on the bank’s approved list). Telephone Lloyds or your financial adviser and finalise any relevant documentation. Lloyds will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or owners to schedule a time for the valuation to happen. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Lloyds will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Sidcup.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years ago for my conveyancing in Sidcup. I now require my papers however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Sidcup of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in Sidcup differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Sidcup come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Sidcup typically purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Sidcup or who has acted in the same development.
I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in Sidcup. I've chance upon a web site which appears to be the perfect answer If there is a chance to get all this stuff completed via email that would be preferable. Do I need to be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
My fiance and I are hoping to buy a three room flatin Sidcup with a residential mortgage from a mortgage company. We have a solicitor in Sidcup yet our mortgage company says she’s not approved on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the our lender panel solicitors or stay with our Sidcup conveyancer and incur the extra legals for one of their panel ones to represent our lender. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The bank home loan issued is subject to conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the lender's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most banks had open panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Sidcup : a mortgagee could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.