I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette in Downe and the EA has just text me to say that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Downe ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Banks attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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 do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Can your site be used to recommend a Conveyancing solicitor in Downe even if I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example where I want to buy an office in Downe with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank?
Our search tool is primarily used to locate domestic conveyancing solicitors in Downe but we have set out towards the end of this page some Downe commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the solicitors directly to check if they are also authorised to represent Lloyds TSB Bank
We are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Downe with a mortgage from Santander.We have a Downe conveyancing solicitor but Santander advised that he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint a Santander panel lawyer or retain our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Santander use our lawyer?
No, not really. The loan offered to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that solicitors needs to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. in the past, most banks had large numbers of solicitors 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. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Santander
Should our lawyer be raising questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Downe.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in Downe. Some people will acquire a property in Downe, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Downe. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual question of the owner to determine if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a compensation claim resulting from an misleading response. The buyer’s lawyers may also conduct an enviro search. This will reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be initiated.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Downe prior to retaining lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some banks may not grant a mortgage on such a house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. If you call us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Downe. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Downe especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Downe.
I have been told by many friends that it can take 6-8 weeks for Downe conveyancing to complete.This was four weeks ago. The property information was only forwarded from the vendors property lawyer yesterday so does the clock start running now?
Six to 8 weeks is an extremely loose timescale. Giving assurances as to precisely how how many weeks Downe conveyancing will take is virtually impossible. Every Downe conveyancing transaction has it’s bespoke set of concerns. As a result your conveyancing practitioner should be unwilling to guarantee an exact timeframe to complete conveyancing in Downe.