I am in the process of selling my maisonette in Workington and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Workington ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, 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 acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say 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. Plenty of firms 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 buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
My husband and I are purchasing a newly constructed flat in Workington and my conveyancer is telling me that she has to the lender to disclose incentives from the developer. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to sign contracts and my preference is not to prolong matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Do I need to attend the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Workington so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
These days approved lawyers for mortgage companies conduct the vast majority of communications via Royal Mail, e-mail or over the phone. This means that they can undertake the conveyancing transaction regardless of where you live in the country. That being said you should check if you have the option of going to the offices of your conveyancing lawyer if just in case this is required.
I am helping my sister sell her house in Workington. Will the conveyancing solicitor order an energy assessment or it is for me to coordinate?
Following the demise of HIPs, energy assessments was left as a mandatory part of moving property. An EPC must be commissioned in advance of the property being marketed. It is not as aspect of the sale process that solicitors normally organise. Where you are using a Workington conveyancing practitioner they might help arrange energy performance certificates due to their relationships with reputable local energy assessors
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Workington. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, UBS are being a right pain. The Workington solicitor who is on the UBS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but UBS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do UBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that UBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why UBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Given that I will soon spend over three hundred thousand on a property in Workington I would like to have a conversation with the solicitor about mytransaction before instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor who will be conducting your conveyancing in Workington.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important person, not a matter reference. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are provided with for residential conveyancing in Workington should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.
We own a leasehold flat in Workington. Conveyancing was finalised in 2010. I have read on numerous advice forums that I mustn’t allow the lease length fall too low. Why is that a problem?
Workington leasehold properties are for a prescribed term - usually just under one hundred years when they commenced. However a significant appartments in Workington were constructed or converted 20 or more years ago and so such leases now have fewer than 80 years remaining. This may sound like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions on the whole need leases to have a minimum of seventy five years remaining to adequate security. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are nearing seventy five years. To maximise the marketability of your property you should be thinking about whether to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. You should note that there are significant benefits to doing so before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease falls below 80 years the premium to be paid to extend starts to escalate.