I have just been advised by my mortgage broker that my Thatcham the law firm I have appointed is not on the bank Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain if this is indeed the case?
You need to call your Thatcham conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Thatcham conveyancing firm that is on the conveyancing panel for your bank.
My solicitor has uncovered a defect with the lease for the property we are buying in Thatcham. The other side have offered title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer has advised that he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank 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.
My apartment in Thatcham is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will the lawyer need to be required to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently currently.
Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Thatcham. Conveyancing is needed. What are my next steps?
Given that you have now to in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you must instruct a conveyancing lawyer soon as you are faced with a tight a fixed date to complete the transaction. An auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke legal pack. This will likely include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. If you have purchased leasehold property the conveyancing papers may include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You must hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that your finances are in order to complete on the date specified in the contract.
is it true that all Thatcham conveyancing solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the CLC.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Thatcham. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancer. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A few days later, the property lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Skipton panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Thatcham prior to instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will not issue a loan on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Thatcham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Thatcham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I have been advised by numerous estate agents in Thatcham to find a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your site over another?
We don’t make any commission for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.