My wife and I are hoping to purchase a 1 bedroom apartment in Enfield Town with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Enfield Town solicitor, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to select one of the bank panel firms or keep our Enfield Town solicitor and pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This seems very unfair; can we not insist that the mortgage company use our Enfield Town lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. 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. A further alternative is for your Enfield Town conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Having sold my house in Enfield Town last September but our buyer keeps SMS messaging me to moan that his solicitor needs to hear from mine. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
After completion of your sale your conveyancer should forward the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer must also send confirmation that the mortgage has been discharged to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion formalities just for conveyancing in Enfield Town.
is it true that all Enfield Town conveyancing solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the TSB conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Some lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Enfield Town. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Shortly after, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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.
Coventry BS have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a property in Enfield Town has been agreed to, what are the next steps?
The property agent will wish to be informed of your conveyancer's details (be sure the lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Contact Coventry BS or your broker and complete any outstanding paperwork. Coventry BS will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to book a time for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Coventry BS will send the offer to you and your conveyancers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Enfield Town.
What can a local search inform me about the property we're purchasing in Enfield Town?
Enfield Town conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations such as Xpress Legal The local search is essential in every Enfield Town conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your property. The search should supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject sections.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Enfield Town is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Enfield Town are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Enfield Town you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Enfield Town may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
What can I do where I am not happy with the solicitor who did our conveyancing in Enfield Town?
We live in an imperfect world, and unfortunately sometimes things do go wrong. Nevertheless there is recourse where you were not happy with your conveyancing in Enfield Town. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a property lawyer to their governing body. If you remain unhappy you may consider getting in touch with the Legal Ombudsman.