I am in the process of selling my house in Bideford and the estate agent has just called to warn that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Bideford ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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 buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of Bideford conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel?
Bideford conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Barclays directly.
I have an AIP. The lender mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to use their panel solicitor as I would much rather instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Bideford?
Do check but the chances are that allocate you one of their panel conveyancers if you want the "fee-free" offer. Speak to the bank and explore if they offer you a cash alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor near Bideford.
Me and my partner are buying a apartment in Bideford. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we will need to put our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Is there a list of Kent Reliance panel conveyancers in Bideford on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings open the public online. Where you are seeking to appoint a Bideford solicitor on the Kent Reliance please make the most of our tool.
We expect to receive a OIP from RBS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do RBS recommend any Bideford solicitors on the RBS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Bideford solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the RBS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and RBS through the process.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are the number one cause of obstruction in Bideford conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Bideford.
four months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Bideford concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.