My husband and I are looking to buy a property in Burbage and are in fact using a Burbage conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Clydesdale have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Burbage solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 solicitor should contact your bank 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Burbage lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Having sold my house in Burbage last August but our buyer keeps calling every few hours complaining that her conveyancer is waiting to hear from mine. What should have happened now that I have sold?
After completion of your disposal your conveyancer is committed to forward the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. If applicable, your conveyancer must also confirm that the home loan has been paid off to the buyers solicitors. There are no post completion procedures just for conveyancing in Burbage.
We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Burbage for our home move. Our financial adviser informed us that our bank Yorkshire Building Society won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
A bank will insist on a panel conveyancer act for it. Borrowers are expected to meet the charges for this. Try using our database to locate a solicitor to carry conveyancing in Burbage on the Yorkshire Building Society approved list of solicitors.
I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Principality. Burbage conveyancing practitioners are appointed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Principality?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Principality done the survey? Have you informed Principality as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Principality conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Burbage. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £225. Soon after, the solicitor called me to say that they were not on the RBS 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 RBS 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.
I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Burbage solicitor - who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS 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 Burbage postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Burbage.
I am purchasing my first flat in Burbage benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about the extras as it may put at risk my mortgage with the bank. 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.
My uncle has urged me to instruct his conveyancers in Burbage. Should I choose my own property lawyer?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Burbage conveyancing lawyer the best way to select a conveyancing solicitor is to seek referrals from friends or relatives who have actually used the firm that you are contemplating using.