Me and my wife are acquiring a ground floor flat in Amesbury. My Conveyancer is not listed on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. Am I still permitted to use my Amesbury conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company panel?
Your options include
- Proceed with your existing Amesbury lawyer but your mortgage company will need to retain a conveyancing practitioner on their approved panel. The net result is additional fees together with potential frustration.
- Appoint a fresh conveyancing practitioner to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Convince your conveyancing practitioner to apply to join the mortgage company panel
We are planning to acquire a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury who is on the Principality solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Principality . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Amesbury.
We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury for our house purchase. Our broker informed us that our bank Santander won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
Mortgage Companies on the whole restrict either the type or the amount of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. Typical examples of such criteria being that a firm must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the type of firm, some have limited the amount of firms they allow to represent them. You should note that Santander have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Santander Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of solicitor panels a few years ago even though there are differing opinions concerning the level of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Amesbury only execute very few conveyances a year.
I'm the only beneficiary of my late mum's will and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Amesbury. The Amesbury property was put into my name in July. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship may be considered the same way as if I'd bought the property in July. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be caught by that. many lenders would take a pragmatic view as this clause is chiefly there to capture subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
Is it correct that all Amesbury CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
It is true that some lenders now use CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their panels.
When it comes to lenders such as Skipton, do Amesbury conveyancers face an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I am purchasing a new build house in Amesbury with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about this side-deal as it could jeopardize my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
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.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury for my house move. Can I see a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
Members of the public can review published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from inquisitions started on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could monitor telephone calls for training reasons.