I am five weeks into the sale of my house in Bearsted and the EA has just text me to warn that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Bearsted ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. 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. Some are unaware that 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 unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
It is a dozen years since I purchased my property in Bearsted. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they could be archived with the conveyancers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Bearsted involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
When it comes to lenders such as Yorkshire BS, do Bearsted solicitors incur a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
My wife and I have arranged the release of further monies on our mortgage from Leeds Building Society as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our home in Bearsted. Are we obliged to appoint a local Bearsted solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Leeds Building Society don't usually instruct a member of their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Leeds Building Society panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Barclays for my property in Bearsted. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Barclays?
Barclays must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Barclays’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Barclays will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Barclays directly. You need not do this via a Barclays conveyancing panel firm.
Is it necessary to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when purchasing a house in Bearsted?
Unless a prior purchase of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you may expect solicitors handling conveyancing in Bearsted to continue to propose a a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
How simple is it to swap conveyancer as I have to appoint one who is on the Britannia conveyancing list. I had appointed a family conveyancing solicitor in Bearsted five minutes from me but he is not approved by Britannia
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Bearsted on the Britannia panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we work with do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are under regulation of the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Bearsted. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this site, you can scrutinise fees for conveyancing solicitors in Bearsted and beyond.
Our conveyancer in Bearsted has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are buying in Bearsted. The other side have put forward title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor says that as he is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company?
Just because you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will be meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your Bearsted conveyancing lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirements. You and the mortgage company are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to by the mortgage company conveyancing panel who has to balance acting for you and the mortgage company