My husband and I are hoping to buy a property in Trefnant and are in fact using a Trefnant conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Trefnant lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Trefnant solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My Trefnant lawyer has spotted a discrepancy when comparing the surveyor’s assumptions in the home valuation survey and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My lawyer says that he is obliged to check that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s stance right?
Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the UBS Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Trefnant?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
My wife and I are purchasing a flat in Trefnant. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On the day of competition we will need to deposit funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Trefnant. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Trefnant solicitor - who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Bank of Ireland will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Bank of Ireland will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Trefnant postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Trefnant.
Should my lawyer be raising enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Trefnant.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Trefnant. There are those who purchase a house in Trefnant, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Trefnant. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the vendor to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not notified by the seller, then a buyer may issue a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate reply. The purchaser’s solicitors should also carry out an environmental report. This should disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations should be conducted.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Trefnant is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Trefnant are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Trefnant you would need to get your solicitor to go 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 Trefnant may ascertain 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.