We are intending to buy a 3 bedroom apartment in Standish with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Standish lawyer, however the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Standish solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower 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 Standish conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My conveyancer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Standish. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer has advised that he must be satisfied that the lender is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
The Standish conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Standish have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I needed a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and my family Standish lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.
I require expedited conveyancing in Standish as I am faced with an ultimatum to sign on the dotted line within one month. A home loan is not required. Can I escape the need for conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
As you are not obtaining a mortgage you are at liberty not to do searches although no lawyer would recommend that you don't. With plenty of history conveyancing in Standish the following are examples of what can crop up and adversely affect market value: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Charges, Outstanding Grants, Road Schemes,...
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property can not be found. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Standish 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?
Gone are the days when you need to have the physical original deeds to evidence that you are the owner of your registered land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
How do I search for a Standish solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am happy to travel upto 10miles to meet the lawyer.
You can use the tool on this website. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Standish conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Standish conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to verify whether they are on the Leeds Building Society panel