I am one month into the sale of my maisonette in Southend and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the buyers are changing their law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Southend ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – 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 hearing daily from firms 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. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
My husband and I are approaching an exchange on a property in Southend and my mum and dad have sent the 10% deposit to my conveyancing practitioner. I am now informed that as the deposit has not arrived from me my solicitor needs to make a notification to my mortgage company. I am advised that, in also acting for the lender he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I disclosed to the bank concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?
Your conveyancing practitioner is duty bound to check with lender to ensure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only report this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
We are planning to acquire a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in Southend who is on the Coventry BS solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Coventry BS . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Southend.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Southend what would it be?
It would be unwise to be swayed by the lowest Southend conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Southend. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Santander have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Santander your lawyer must follow the conveyancing requirements set out in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Santander. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Santander where a lease does not satisfy these conditions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Southend.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, UBS are being problematic. The Southend solicitor who is on the UBS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but UBS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do UBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that UBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why UBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Southend is where the house is located. Can you offer any advice?
Flying freeholds in Southend are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Southend you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Southend may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
We have been told by various friends to expect six to eight weeks for Southend conveyancing to complete.This was 3 ago. The paperwork was only forwarded from the vendors conveyancing practitioner a couple of days ago so does the clock start running now?
Don't rely on counting down a two month period. Addressing exactly how how many weeks Southend conveyancing will take is an impossible task. Every conveyance will have it’s own unique set of concerns. As a result your lawyer should be unwilling to predict the a precise timescale to complete conveyancing in Southend.