I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Thurmaston and the EA has just called to say that the buyers are switching solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Thurmaston ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.
Are all Thurmaston Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing list of approved firms?
A selection of lenders now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Is it the case that all Thurmaston solicitor practices on the RBS conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the RBS conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Barclays. Is it usual for Barclays to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Thurmaston is approved on their conveyancing panel? Barclays have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Barclays to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
The deeds to our house are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Thurmaston 4 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be recorded by HMLR under a Title Number. It is possible to carry out a search at the Land Registry, find your house and get current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.
I am buying my first flat in Thurmaston with a loan from Halifax. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Thurmaston ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may not give a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Thurmaston. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Do I need to be suspicious by brokers that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Thurmaston conveyancing firm?
As with many service providers, often suggestions from connections can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are lots of parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders may put forward lawyers to retain. Sometimes these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there may be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the right to appoint your preferred conveyancer. However, bear in mind that some mortgage providers specify a panel list of conveyancers you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your house move.