Is the fact that my conveyancer in Basildon is not identified on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s work?
That is more than likely a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should simply call the Basildon conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
Completed the sale of my flat in Basildon last December but our buyer keeps texting every few hours to moan that his lawyer is waiting to hear from mylawyer. What should have happened following completion?
Following your sale your conveyancer is duty bound to deliver the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. If applicable, your lawyer should also evidence that the home loan has been redeemed to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion tasks peculiar conveyancing in Basildon.
My Solicitor in Basildon has never been on on the Birmingham Midshires Solicitor Panel. Can I still use my prefered solicitor even though they are excluded from the Birmingham Midshires list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Basildon solicitors but Birmingham Midshires will need to use a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional total legal fees and result in delays.
- Get a new practitioner to act in the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are on the Birmingham Midshires panel
Various web forums that I have come across warn that are the primary reason for hinderance in Basildon conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Basildon.
In my capacity as executor for the estate of my uncle I am selling a residence in Neath but reside in Basildon. My conveyancer (approximately 200 miles awayrequires that I execute a stat dec before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Basildon who can witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Basildon
Our lawyer in Basildon has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Basildon. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that as he is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. A precondition to being on the bank approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.