I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in Calne and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Calne ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with 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 oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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.
The owners of the property we are looking to purchase are using a conveyancing practitioner in Calne who has suggested a exclusivity agreement with a deposit of 5k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
Exclusivity contracts are agreements between a property vendor and prospective buyer giving the buyer exclusive rights to the sale of the premises for a limited period of time. Essentially, an exclusivity is a document stating that you should have a contract at a later time being the contract for the actual sale. It tends to be used for buyer assurance though in many situations, the proprietor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are numerous pros and cons to having them but you need to check with your lawyer but beware that it may result in incurring more in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these contracts are rare in relation to conveyancing in Calne.
My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Calne. I I would like to check if they are accepted on the Accord Mortgages Ltd approved list of lawyers. Could you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
The first thing you should do is phone your conveyancer and ask them whether they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you should call Accord Mortgages Ltd who may be able to help.
Me and my brother own a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Calne. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Virgin Money. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. Is it worth asking Virgin Money to clarify?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Calne and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Calne. I've discover a site which appears to be the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all formalities completed via email that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
We have had DIP from National Westminster Bank who said that they will lend up to £400k. When do I need to appoint a practitioner for conveyancing? Calne is where we plan to move to.
It would be wise to appoint a conveyancer now requesting that they generate a file on your behalf. This will facilitate: 1) the estate agent to send out the Sales Memo to all parties 2) the seller’s lawyer to send out the draft agreement. That being said, do not instruct your lawyer to start searches until you receive your valuation report from National Westminster Bank and you are content to proceed.