We are intending to acquire a 1 bedroom apartment in Chelsfield with a mortgage. We have a Chelsfield solicitor, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no option but to appoint one of the bank panel firms or keep our Chelsfield conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to require that the mortgage company use our Chelsfield lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose 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 Chelsfield conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Do the conveyancing solicitors that you recommend execute attended exchange conveyancing in Chelsfield?
We do have a number of conveyancing specialists carrying out one day exchanges. Please call us to get a fee calculation and details as to dates.
We are downsizing from our home in Chelsfield and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a national conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Chelsfield. We have lived in Chelsfield for six years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to seek confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of 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 illness)
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Chelsfield. Now, I need my documents however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Chelsfield of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Chelsfield in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to grant a loan on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Chelsfield. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Chelsfield to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
We have AIP from The Mortgage Works who said we could borrow up to £117k. At what point do we need to instruct a solicitor for conveyancing? Chelsfield is where we plan to move to.
It would be wise to appoint a lawyer now so that the lawyer can open the ledger so they can do the AML checks etc. Once you wish them to start work they will seek a payment on account normally approximately £175. That would generally be after you have the mortgage offer and survey report, however if you wish to expedite matters you can start sooner albeit risking some money.