We are hoping to acquire a 3 bedroom apartment in Colchester with a mortgage. We have a Colchester lawyer, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to select one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or retain our Colchester solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel that this is inequitable; can we not demand that the lender use our Colchester property lawyer ?
No, not really. 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. Another option that might be available is for your Colchester conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am selling my house in Colchester. Does the conveyancer need to be on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently at the moment.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Colchester. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
Aldermore have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a flat in Colchester has been agreed to, what happens next?
The property agent will want to be informed of your lawyer's details (make sure the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Call up Aldermore or the financial adviser and complete any relevant forms. Aldermore will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or seller to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Aldermore will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Colchester.
I have finally had an offer on a flat in Colchester accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have placed an offer on a property, but it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other properties booked. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Colchester. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Principality going?
It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey, Colchester conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your property lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Concerning the next stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your transaction, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a hot market many home buyers will apply for the mortgage with Principality and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with the conveyancing in Colchester.
My partner and I are downsizing from our house in Colchester and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Colchester lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used a nationwide conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Colchester. Having lived in Colchester for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. Are they able to advise? You need to 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 health insurance to cover that same ailment)
Is there anything unique about your site and other online quote calculators when it comes to conveyancing in Colchester?
At this site get an accurate quote via a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that understands the issues of your conveyancing in Colchester. As opposed to estate agents and brokerage sites we do not operate commission deals with solicitors. Many agents and online brokers 'recommend' solicitors paying the highest kickback, rather than the best value conveyancing in Colchester
We have appointed a Colchester conveyancing solicitor for our house purchase (FTB’s) and have spotted in the Ts and Cs that they are not regulated by the FCA. Am I right to be worried or is that standard 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 set specific stipulations regulating amounts deposited by them.