Much to our surprise we have been notified by our mortgage adviser that my Walsingham lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be certain that this is indeed the case?
You need to contact your Walsingham lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Walsingham. My lender is Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 20/7/2024, the requirements read as follows :
I am downsizing from our property in Walsingham and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Walsingham lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a nationwide conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Walsingham. Having lived in Walsingham for three years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
I decided to have a survey done on a house in Walsingham prior to instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to issue a mortgage on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Walsingham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Walsingham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Am I better off to appoint a Walsingham conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal work but they are based 300miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Walsingham conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to execute documents, deliver your ID and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and they were impressed that should trump using an unfamiliar Walsingham conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being based in the area.
Our solicitor in Walsingham has uncovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Walsingham. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that as he is on the bank conveyancing panel 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 lender are the client. A precondition to being on the mortgage company approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will 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 lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.