We are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Aldwych with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Aldwych lawyer, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or keep our Aldwych lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to require that the mortgage company use our Aldwych conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Aldwych conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Our Aldwych solicitor has spotted a discrepancy when comparing the information in the valuation survey and what is in the legal papers for the property. My solicitor informs me that he needs to ensure that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s course or action legitimate?
Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
My lawyer in Aldwych is not listed on the Chelsea Building Society Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor even though they are not on the Chelsea Building Society panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Aldwych lawyers but Chelsea Building Society will need to retain a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional total conveyancing charges and cause delays.
- Get an alternative practitioner to to deal with the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Chelsea Building Society approved.
- Persuade your Chelsea Building Society based solicitor to seek to join the Chelsea Building Society panel
Will our conveyancer be asking questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Aldwych.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Aldwych. There are those who acquire a house in Aldwych, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Aldwych. The standard property information forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard question of the seller to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If the property has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser may issue a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate response. The purchaser’s solicitors may also carry out an enviro search. This will reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations will need to be made.
I am buying a new build house in Aldwych with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about the side-deal as it would affect 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.
Can you recommend a conveyancer for buying a house? Ideally someone in Aldwych, who will communicate via email - not someone who insists on slow mail or fax.
LenderPanel.com is restricted to being a directory service for conveyancing practitioners who want to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for UBS in certain locations for example Aldwych . Our intention is not to recommend any specific conveyancing practitioner.