I am 3 weeks into the sale of my apartment in Wadhurst and the EA has just called to say that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Wadhurst ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set 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 worked with them for many years.
Mortgage companies attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Is it the case that all Wadhurst CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now utilise CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their panels.
is it true that all Wadhurst solicitor practices on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the practice would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
Bank of Ireland have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a apartment in Wadhurst has been agreed to, now what?
The property agent will need to be advised as to your solicitor's details (be sure the solicitors are on the bank’s approved list). Call up Bank of Ireland or the financial adviser and finish off any appropriate forms. Bank of Ireland will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or owners to book a time for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week to get a mortgage offer. Bank of Ireland will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Wadhurst.
My relative recommended that where I am buying in Wadhurst I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Wadhurst conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Wadhurst around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Wadhurst Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Wadhurst.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Wadhurst benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it would adversely affect my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
Is it simple use your search tool to select a conveyancing solicitor in Wadhurst on the authorised to act for my bank?
First pick a lender such as Lloyds TSB Bank, Barnsley Building Society or Nottingham Building Society then type in your preferred area a common one being Wadhurst. Conveyancing practices in Wadhurst and further afield should be identified.
What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Wadhurst conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wadhurst conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Wadhurst conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be of use:
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What are the charges for lease extension work? If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
Wadhurst Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
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The answer will be helpful as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have all the details It would be prudent to discover as much as possible about the company managing the block as they can either make living at the property much simpler or a lot more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of their service. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?