I am one month into the sale of my flat in Stoke Newington and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Stoke Newington ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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 purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Can the conveyancing solicitors listed on your site perform attended exchange conveyancing in Stoke Newington?
There are a few conveyancing specialists carrying out attended exchanges. Please e-mail us to secure a costs illustration and details as to dates.
It is a dozen years since I bought my property in Stoke Newington. Conveyancing solicitors have just been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find the deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your lender or they may stored with the solicitor who handled your purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Stoke Newington relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Newington for our home move. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage company Barnsley Building Society won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?
Before the recession most mortgage companies had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. Almost all Stoke Newington conveyancing firms would have been on most lender panels. The financial services regulator in 2010 completed a thematic review into mortgage fraud which come to the conclusion: know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, lenders are increasingly seeing more data from law firms relating to their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of transactions. Many Stoke Newington conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have a 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Stoke Newington is one of the thousands of areas where the conveyancers we list are are authorised to act for Barnsley Building Society.
Various web forums that I have frequented warn that are the primary cause of obstruction in Stoke Newington conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Stoke Newington.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Stoke Newington I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Stoke Newington in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you need a home loan that many years will be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.