I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Tulse Hill and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are swapping conveyancer. The excuse is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Tulse Hill ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose 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 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.
I am acquiring a house mortgage free in Tulse Hill. I have resided for the previous 20 years in Tulse Hill. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I have knowledge of the area and road very well should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a home loan, then all but one or two of the Tulse Hill conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your solicitor will 'advise', no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches done, but he has a professional duty to do this. Do consider; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it will likely be be of relevance to your prospective purchaser what the searches determine. There are plenty of instances where premises with apparent issues can still show up unexpected search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Tulse Hill should be able to give you some sensible advice here.
As someone clueless as to conveyancing in Tulse Hill what is your top tip you can impart concerning the ownership transfer in Tulse Hill
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Tulse Hill and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the house moving process. E.g., the seller, selling agent and sometimes your mortgage company. Selecting a solicitor for your conveyancing in Tulse Hill is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the transaction whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.
On occasion a third party with a vested interest will try and sway you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your conveyancer is wrong. Or your financial adviser may tell you to do something that is contrary to your solicitors advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
I'm buying my first flat in Tulse Hill with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my conveyancer about this extras as it may impact my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
Am I right to be concerned about estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a web based conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Tulse Hill conveyancing practice?
As with lots of service providers, often suggestions from family and friends can be very helpful. Yet there are lots of parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks might all put forward conveyancers to choose. Sometimes these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there is an underlying commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You have the discretion to appoint your own lawyer. Don't forget that many banks specify a panel list of solicitors you must use for the mortgage aspect of your house move.
What can I do to establish who owns a property in Tulse Hill?
On the basis that the premises is recorded at HMLR, and you have enough details of the location of the premises, you should be able to view details from the HM Land Registry of the registered proprietor for a fee.