I am in the process of selling my apartment in Clapham and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Clapham ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My husband and I are refinancing our maisonette in Clapham with Lloyds. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Lloyds conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Lloyds. This is solely used to protect Lloyds if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Lloyds had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Can I use your services to recommend a Conveyancing solicitor in Clapham even if I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for example where I intend to buy a shop in Clapham with a loan from Clydesdale?
Our search tool is primarily used to get a quote from domestic conveyancing solicitors in Clapham but we have set out towards the end of this page a few Clapham commercial conveyancing firms. You should make contact with the firm directly to establish if they can also act for Clydesdale
How do I check that the solicitor conducting my conveyancing in Clapham is on the lender’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for HSBC Bank thus paying £175.00 in additional conveyancing bill.
Please do make the most of the search tool on this site. Please choose the lender and type ‘Clapham’ or your preferred area and you will be presented with numerous conveyancers offices in Clapham or nearest you.
I am buying my first flat in Clapham benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it may impact my loan with Chelsea Building Society. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the UK Finance website. UK Finance 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.
We have appointed a Clapham conveyancing solicitor for our home move (novice purchasers) and have spotted in the terms and conditions that they are not covered by the Financial Conduct Authority. Need I be worried or is that the norm with solicitor?
We can't see why they should be. Most lawyer don't lend money. They should be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, who dictate specific rules regulating funds sitting in their bank.