Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Botany Bay is not on my lender's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s work?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of plausible 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 most common reasons for removal are: (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. If you are concerned you should simply call the Botany Bay conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
My flat in Botany Bay is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Does my conveyancer have to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Barclays conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently in recent years.
My husband and I have organised a further advance on our mortgage from RBS as we intend to carry out improvements to our house in Botany Bay. Are we obliged to appoint a high street Botany Bay solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
RBS do not ordinarily instruct a member of their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the RBS panel.
I have a mortgage with Yorkshire BS for my property in Botany Bay. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?
Your original mortgage agreement with Yorkshire BS will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 Yorkshire BS directly. You need not do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Botany Bay. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Shortly after, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Botany Bay?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Botany Bay. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Botany Bay is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Botany Bay are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Botany Bay you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Botany Bay 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 residence.
We have appointed a Botany Bay conveyancing solicitor for our house purchase (novice purchasers) and have spotted in the Ts and Cs that they are not overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority. Am I right to be concerned or is that the norm with property lawyer?
We can't see why they should be. Most lawyer don't lend money. They should be regulated by the SRA, who have stringent rules covering monies held in their bank.