I am one month into the sale of my maisonette in Eel Pie Island and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Eel Pie Island ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, 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 acted for them for many years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
My wife and I have lately acquired a property in Eel Pie Island. We have noticed several problems with the property which we believe were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? What searches should? have been ordered for conveyancing in Eel Pie Island?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are relate to conveyancing in Eel Pie Island. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken during the legal transfer of property are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor answers a form known as a SPIF. If the information ends up being incorrect, then you may have a claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Eel Pie Island.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Eel Pie Island? What am I being asked for?
It is indeed that case that these requests have nothing to do with conveyancing in Eel Pie Island. However these days you will not be able to complete any conveyancing process in the absence providing evidence of your identity. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence plus a bank statement. Remember if you are providing your driving licence as proof of identification it needs to be both the paper section and photo card part, one is not acceptable in the absence of the other.
Evidence of the origin of money is required under Money Laundering Regulations. You should not be offended when when this is requested of you as your conveyancer will need to retain this information on record. Your Eel Pie Island conveyancing solicitor will require evidence of proof of funds before they are able to accept any funds from you into their client account and they may also ask further queries regarding the origin of funds.
How can we tell if a Eel Pie Island conveyancing solicitor on the Nationwide panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Eel Pie Island obtaining recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always advise that you speak with the solicitor handling your conveyancing.
We expect to receive a AIP from Co-operative this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Co-operative recommend any Eel Pie Island solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Eel Pie Island solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Co-operative through the process.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Eel Pie Island. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A few days later, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the TSB 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 TSB 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.
Do I need to pay for insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when purchasing a property in Eel Pie Island?
Unless a prior acquisition of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you may assume that lawyers handling conveyancing in Eel Pie Island to continue to suggest a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
I have been recommended by a few property agents in Eel Pie Island to choose a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers ahead of another?
We don’t make any financial incentive for sending work in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.