I am progressing with the sale of my house in Arundel and the EA has just text me to advise that the purchasers are swapping property lawyer. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Arundel ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. 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. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
It is is a decade since I acquired my house in Arundel. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been appointed on the sale but I can't find my title deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by the lender or they may stored with the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Arundel relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the HSBC Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Arundel?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
I need some quick conveyancing in Arundel as I am under an ultimatum to exchange contracts in less than 3 weeks. A home loan is not required. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
As you are are a mortgage free purchaser you are at liberty not to do searches although no solicitor would advise that you don't. With plenty of history conveyancing in Arundel the following are instances of what can appear and adversely impact the marketability of the property: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Charges, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Arundel. Now, I need my files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Arundel of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am purchasing a new build house in Arundel with a mortgage from Alliance & Leicester . The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my lawyer about the deal as it would impact 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.