I am progressing with the sale of my house in Bletchley and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are switching conveyancer. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Bletchley ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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 unlikely to have any impact on this.
We note that you have a post code search directory identifying firms on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a commission if I instruct them for our conveyancing in Bletchley?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Bletchley.
What happens if my solicitor is expelled from the Nottingham Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Bletchley?
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 at a cost.
2 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Bletchley concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Bletchley is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Bletchley are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Bletchley you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Bletchley may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I have been recommended by a couple of local estate agents in Bletchley to select a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your site over and above a competitor’s?
We don’t give any financial incentive for directing people to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.