My fiance and I are planning to purchase a home in Gainsborough and have instructed a Gainsborough conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Leeds Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Gainsborough conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors 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 solicitor 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Gainsborough solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am hoping to move into my new home in Gainsborough next Tuesday. My property lawyer now wants me to supply her with proof of content and building insurance for the property as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the lender. What risks does the mortgage company expect the insurance to cover?
All property lawyers on acting for lenders would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 conditions. These obligations are not limited to conveyancing in Gainsborough.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is removed from the Clydesdale Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Gainsborough?
The first thing to point out is that, 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.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Principality as we intend to carry out renovations to our home in Gainsborough. Are we obliged to select a high street Gainsborough solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Principality don't usually require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Principality conveyancing panel.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Gainsborough. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £225. Not long after, the conveyancer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the RBS 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 RBS 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.
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on a flat in Gainsborough accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on a property, but it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have chosen a local conveyancing solicitor in Gainsborough. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Virgin Money going?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Gainsborough conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you must check that your solicitor is on the Virgin Money approved list. As to the subsequent steps this very much depends on the specifics of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market many buyers will apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their lawyer to proceed with the conveyancing in Gainsborough.
I have recentlydiscovered that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Gainsborough for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to see if the property is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Gainsborough conveyancing specialists.
My father-in-law has encouraged me to use his conveyancers in Gainsborough. Should I use them?
There are no two ways about it the best way to find a conveyancing solicitor is to have feedback from friends or relatives who have actually used the firm you're considering.