My husband and I are looking to buy a property in Bridgend and are in fact using a Bridgend conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. TSB have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Bridgend conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Bridgend solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My husband and I decided to purchase a newbuild apartment in Bridgend with a residential mortgage from Leeds Building Society.We use our Bridgend conveyancing lawyer but Leeds Building Society advised that he's not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Leeds Building Society panel solicitor or retain our high street solicitor and pay for a Leeds Building Society panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The home loan issued to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that conveyancers must be on the Leeds Building Society approved list. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Leeds Building Society
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Bridgend. Do I collect the keys to the house on the completion date from my conveyancer? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Bridgend?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
is it true that all Bridgend conveyancing solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the CLC.
It is unclear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Bridgend bank branch on a couple of occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Bridgend conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they will not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the conveyancing practitioner is on the mortgage company approved list, they must adhere to the CML Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
We are selling our house in Bridgend and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed a national conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Bridgend. We have lived in Bridgend for many years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You should 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 life insurance to cover that same sickness)
I moved into my flat on 12 September and the transaction details is not yet registered. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Bridgend expressed confidence that it would be dealt with inside ten days. Are titles in Bridgend uniquely lengthy to register?
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Bridgend registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timeframes can adjust subject to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry need to notify any 3rd persons or bodies. As of today in the region of 80% of such applications are completed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to extensive hold-ups. Registration is effected once the purchaser is living at the property therefore an expedited registration is not always top priority yet if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers could contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
Do I cancel my mortgage payments with RBS as soon as a completion date for my home sale in Bridgend has been agreed?
You would be well advised to continue paying any mortgage sums to RBS pending the mortgage being paid off on completion as part of your Bridgend conveyancing.