My partner and I are planning to purchase a property in Clapham and are in fact using a Clapham conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Accord Mortgages Ltd have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Clapham conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Quality 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Clapham solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My wife and I have recently bought a house in Clapham. We have noticed several problems with the property which we consider were omitted in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that should have been conducted for conveyancing in Clapham?
It is not clear from the question as what problems have arisen and if they are specific to conveyancing in Clapham. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken as part of the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a property owner answers a questionnaire referred to as a SPIF. answers proves to be misleading, then you may have a claim against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Clapham.
We just had an offer accepted to buy with Melton Mowbray Building Society. I dropped in a few high street firms yet cant to find a Clapham conveyancing firm on the Melton Mowbray Building Society panel. Could you help?
You should make use of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this site. Pick the lender and type Clapham or your preferred area and you will discover a number of lawyer located in Clapham or nearest you.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Clapham and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Clapham. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Clapham area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Clapham. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
My husband and I are 3 weeks into a freehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the estate agent to handle our conveyancing in Clapham. I am am very disappointed with the level of service. Can you help me find new conveyancers?
They would have to be really bad to suggest diss instructing them. Has your mortgage offer been issued? In the event that it has you need to inform them of the new conveyancer and have the loan are re-sent. The solicitor ideally needs to be on the mortgage company panel to avoid supplemental charges and complications. So that should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your home move in Clapham
My husband and I are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Clapham. When we first instructed lawyer, we were told they were on all major UK mortgage company panels. The financial adviser called just now to advise that they are not on the UBS approved list. If it turns out to be true, what should we do? Do we just find a new lawyer that is on their panel or should we cover the costs for separate representation, with UBS selecting their own approved conveyancer.
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the buyer’s solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a solicitor has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the conveyancer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the conveyancer has to meet. Some banks now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your conveyancing practitioner should contact UBS 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 UBS's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Clapham lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.