I am in the process of selling my maisonette in Burton upon Stather and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Burton upon Stather ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Banks attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose 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 are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
We have very pushy vendors who has insisted on a preliminary agreement with a deposit 6,000. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
Lock out contracts are contracts binding a property owner and purchaser giving the buyer the sole right to purchase the premises within an agreed time frame. For all intents and purposes, an exclusivity agreement is a contract stating that you should have a contract at a later time which is the contract for the actual sale. It tends to be utilised for buyer assurance though in some cases, the vendor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are many positives and negatives to having an agreement but you need to check with your solicitor but note that it may end up costing you extra in conveyancing fees. For this these agreements are rare when it comes to conveyancing in Burton upon Stather.
We are buying a newbuild apartment in Burton upon Stather with a residential mortgage from Santander.We would like to retain our Burton upon Stather conveyancing lawyer but Santander says she’s not listed on their approved list of member firms. We have to appoint a Santander panel firm or retain our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Santander use our lawyer?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that solicitors needs to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors 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. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Santander
We have agreed to purchase a house in Burton upon Stather. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender TSB be concerned?
As your lender is TSB your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing requirements outlined in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for TSB. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to TSB where a lease fails to comply with these conditions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Burton upon Stather.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Skipton. I assume I don't need a Burton upon Stather lawyer on the Skipton panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Skipton mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Skipton mortgage from the register. Skipton, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Skipton has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Skipton has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Lloyds. Is it usual for Lloyds to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Burton upon Stather is approved on their conveyancing panel? Lloyds have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Lloyds to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Should our conveyancer be raising questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Burton upon Stather.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Burton upon Stather. There are those who buy a house in Burton upon Stather, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that may be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Burton upon Stather. The standard information given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the vendor to determine if the property has suffered from flooding. If the property has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer may commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading answer. The purchaser’s solicitors will also conduct an enviro report. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be made.
I bought my home on 3 June and the transaction details are still not registered. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Burton upon Stather expressed confidence that it will be dealt with in a couple of weeks. Are transfers in Burton upon Stather uniquely lengthy to register?
As far as conveyancing in Burton upon Stather is concerned, registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timeframes can differ according to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry communicate with any interested parties. At present in the region of three quarters of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be longer hold-ups. Registration is effected after the new owner is living at the property therefore an expedited registration is not usually an essential issue yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor must speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.