I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Brentford and the EA has just called to warn that the buyers are changing their law firm. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Brentford ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. 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. 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 purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Are the Brentford conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Yorkshire BS?
Brentford conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Yorkshire BS directly.
Me and my partner are buying a flat in Brentford. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we have 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.
When it comes to lenders such as TSB, do Brentford solicitors have to pay an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Brentford solicitor - who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Brentford postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Brentford.
We are downsizing from our property in Brentford and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a web based conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Brentford. Having lived in Brentford for many years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
I am buying a new build apartment in Brentford. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Brentford
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The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please supply a car parking plan.
I decided to have a survey completed on a property in Brentford in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may refuse to give a loan on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Halifax. If you call us we can check 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 Brentford. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Brentford to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.