It has come to my attention via my IFA that my Bow property lawyer is not on the lender Solicitor panel. How can I be certain that this is indeed the case?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Bow lawyer directly. You lawyer should inform you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Bow? Is this really warranted?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the ID of the potential client they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing instruction. The Terms of Engagement that you are required to sign will no doubt stipulate this. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the CML Lenders Handbook requirements last updated on 1st December 2014. If you are unwilling to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer will not be able to take you on as a client.
We wanted to use a property lawyer in Bow for our house move. Our broker has since notified us that our bank Halifax won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?
Lenders on the whole imposes restrictions either the type or the amount of conveyancing solicitors on their member panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. In addition to restricting the type of firm, a few lenders have limited the amount of solicitor practices they permit to act for them. Be aware that Halifax have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Halifax Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of solicitor panels since 2008 even though there remains mixed opinions regarding the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Bow only conduct very few conveyances a year.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of stalling in Bow house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Bow.
I am purchasing a new build house in Bow with a mortgage from Barnsley Building Society. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about the side-deal as it may adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Bow in advance of appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some banks tend refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Bow. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Bow especially if they are familiar with such properties in Bow.