My partner and I are hoping to acquire a house in Derbyshire and are in fact using a Derbyshire conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Aldermore have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Derbyshire conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard 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 Accreditation 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 Derbyshire solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I have given 8 weeks notice to my existing landlord and must vacate my rented apartment in Derbyshire by the end of next month. Conveyancing for my house purchase is progressing. Can I complete in six weeks as don't want to have to move into short term accommodation?
It is unwise to provide notice for your lease until you have exchanged. Assuming that you have not previously done so, contact to your conveyancer and request that they cajole the sellers lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that all parties will work towards
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is expelled from the RBS Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Derbyshire?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. 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 at a cost.
Is it the case that all Derbyshire CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the TSB conveyancing panel?
A selection of banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Derbyshire. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Clydesdale have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Clydesdale your lawyer must check the conveyancing requirements set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Clydesdale. The CML Handbook contains minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Clydesdale where a lease does not comply with these provisions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Derbyshire.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Derbyshire lawyer having made sure that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Derbyshire postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with TSB, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Derbyshire.
I need some quick conveyancing in Derbyshire as I have a deadline to complete in less than one month. Thankfully I do not require a mortgage. Can I escape the need for conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
As you are are a mortgage free buyer you have the choice not to have searches carried out although no lawyer would advise that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Derbyshire the following are instances of what can arise and adversely affect future mortgageability: Enforcement Actions, Overdue Fees, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...
We are purchasing a three bedroom apartmentin Derbyshire with a mortgage from a mortgage company. We have selected a conveyancer in Derbyshire but our lender says she’s not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint from the our bank panel firms or stay with our Derbyshire conveyancer and incur the extra costs for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that our lender use our Derbyshire lawyer?
No, not really. The mortgage company home loan issued is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the mortgage company's conveyancing panel. in the past, most banks had open panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Derbyshire : 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. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.