I am in the process of selling my apartment in Ashington and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Ashington ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the last 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 decades.
Lending institutions justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed 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 hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some 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 sway in the decision.
My fiance and I intend to remortgage our flat in Ashington with Barclays. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Barclays had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Ashington for our house move. Our broker has since advised us that our mortgage company Platform Home Loans Ltd won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?
Mortgage Companies in the main imposes restrictions either the category or the volume of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such criteria being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, some have reduced the number of firms they use to act for them. You should note that Platform Home Loans Ltd have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Platform Home Loans Ltd Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there remains differing opinions about the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Ashington only carry out very few conveyances a year.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Ashington
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Ashington and Solicitor firms in Ashington offering conveyancing We would stress that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. Both can deal with associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.
We are aiming to move property in May. Will my conveyancing solicitor communicate with the removal company on the day of completion. Incidentally, can you suggest a removal company in Ashington. Conveyancing firm was found before I stumbled across this page.
On the day of completion you will need to pick up the house keys from your selling agent but this can only be done after the vendors solicitors inform the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be released. You can tell the removal company that you are ready to move in. We are not in a position to recommend a specific removal company but can help you choose a residential property solicitor in Ashington or a firm with expertise in conveyancing in Ashington.
Is there a list of Bank of Ireland panel conveyancers in Ashington on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few lenders make their panel listings visible online. Where you are looking for a Ashington conveyancing practitioner on the Bank of Ireland please make the most of our tool.
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Ashington and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Ashington lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed an internet conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Ashington. Having lived in Ashington for many years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
My son is embarking on her first house purchase, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the offer was accepted on flat we rang the lender to issue the formal offer. We were shocked to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all solicitor, they must be on their panel, is this correct?
Lenders ordinarily imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Ashington solicitor on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.