I am selling my ground floor flat in Covent Garden and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are switching law firm. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Covent Garden ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
At what point will exchange of contracts take place for sale conveyancing in Covent Garden and am I required to attend the conveyancers branch?
If you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Covent Garden you are welcome to attend to sign contracts. That being said, the firms we recommend offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give just as diligent and professional a job for you when communicating with you electronically. The signing of the property agreement is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the conveyancer to officially exchange at the appropriate time, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The exchange process is is usually a five minute process, although where a lengthy "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Covent Garden)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is removed from the Santander Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Covent Garden?
First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
I appreciate that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to have this when buying a residence in Covent Garden? or I am told that there is an ancient law that could mean that homeowners living in a parish church boundary may be liable to pay for maintenance to the chancel within the church. Is this relevant for conveyancing in Covent Garden?
Unless a prior purchase of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you could expect conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Covent Garden to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one near me in Covent Garden I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Covent Garden for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
Builders have recommended to me a lawyer and I've received a quote from them. They are almost £400 cheaper than my family Covent Garden conveyancing practitioner. Should I use them?
Developers normally have panels of conveyancing practitioners who expedite matters and who know the developer’s documentation and property lawyer. Plenty of developers offer an inducement to use their approved lawyer for this reason, any increased cost can be avoided and a builder won't suggest a conveyancing warehouse and run the risk of having the conveyancing stall when they demand an exchange within a tight time frame. The argument for not opting for the suggested conveyancing practitioner is that they may prove hesitant to 'push' your interests for fear of alienating the housebuilder. Where you have concerns that this may be the situation you should remain with your local Covent Garden conveyancer.