I am purchasing a maisonette in Clerkenwell. My Solicitor is not listed on the mortgage company solicitor panel. Am I still permitted to appoint my Clerkenwell conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the lender approved list?
You have a number of alternatives open to you here
- Carry on with your existing Clerkenwell lawyer but your lender will need to retain a solicitor on their approved list. The net result is additional cost and probable delay.
- Choose a fresh lawyer to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Convince your solicitor to pull out all the stops to get accepted on the mortgage company conveyancing panel
My partner and I are approaching an exchange on a house in Clerkenwell and my mum and dad have transferred the exchange deposit to my property lawyer. I am now informed that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my conveyancing practitioner needs to disclose this to my mortgage company. I am advised that, in also acting for the mortgage company he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I disclosed to the lender concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for him to raise this?
Your lawyer is obliged to check with lender to ensure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only report this to your bank if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
The Clerkenwell conveyancing solicitors that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Clerkenwell have suddenly closed. I chose them because I had to have a lawyer on the UBS conveyancing panel and my family Clerkenwell lawyer was not. I paid them money in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the UBS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to help.
We are purchasing a flat in Clerkenwell. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Is it correct that all Clerkenwell CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Clerkenwell. My mortgage broker suggested a lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A few days later, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the HSBC panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Me and my brother own a renovated Edwardian house in Clerkenwell. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Alliance & Leicester . I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. Is it worth asking Alliance & Leicester to clarify?
You need to review 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 Clerkenwell and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Clerkenwell is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Clerkenwell are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Clerkenwell you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Clerkenwell may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.