I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Wellington and the EA has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Wellington ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose 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. 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 purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
The housing market in Wellington is hotting up. What can I do to speed up matters?
Where you are under pressure to complete we would recommend that your lawyer is familiar with the location as they will have local contacts and insight. It is possible that they could have transacted previousproperties in the same neighbourhood. Therefore consider using a Wellington conveyancing lawyer. Second, make sure that the lawyer is on the lender panel. It is believed that 18% of Wellington conveyancing transactions are held up or jeopardised after discovering a buyer’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the home move being frustrated by an average of 21 days. It is understood that this issue affects approximately one hundred thousand home moves every year. Many Wellington conveyancing practices can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check as early as possible.
I am purchasing a terraced house in Wellington. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Wellington you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Wellington.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the home buying as FTB of a garden flat in Wellington. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Wellington?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Wellington. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you should be able to pick up the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Nottingham as we want to conduct a loft conversion to our property in Wellington. Are we obliged to appoint a local Wellington solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Nottingham do not ordinarily require a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nottingham panel.
Nottingham have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a property in Wellington has been agreed to, now what?
Your property agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (make sure the lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Call up Nottingham or the broker and finalise any outstanding forms. Nottingham will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or seller to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average ten days to receive the mortgage offer. Nottingham will send the offer to you and your conveyancers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Wellington.
My father-in-law has recommend that I use his conveyancing solicitors in Wellington. Should I find my own solicitor?
No doubt the ideal way to select a conveyancing lawyer is to get recommendations from friends or relatives who have previously instructed the conveyancer that you are are thinking of instructing.
Been on the hunt for a lawyer for leasehold sale conveyancing in Wellington. I'm selling, uncomplicated no mortgage to redeem, no hurry, no onward purchase. Received an estimate from a solicitor for a thousand pounds excluding VAT which is a tad high given that its so straightforward. Can I pay less for conveyancing in Wellington?
As it’s a sale only, 475 + VAT would be about the best for sale conveyancing in Wellington.