I am selling my ground floor flat in Grimsby and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Grimsby ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices 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 buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Grimsby for our house move. Our broker has since advised us that our bank The Mortgage Works won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?
A decade ago most mortgage companies had a different appetite for risk. Almost all Grimsby conveyancing firms would have been on many mortgage company panels. The Financial Services Authority in 2010 completed a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, mortgage companies have regularly sought more data from law firms relating to their operations and the individuals who work for them and establishing certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of transactions. Many Grimsby conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have a 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Grimsby is amongst the thousands of areas where the conveyancers we list are members of the panel for The Mortgage Works.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as TSB, do Grimsby solicitors incur a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We previously selected conveyancers based in Grimsby on the Yorkshire BS solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me an additional amount for dealing with the Yorkshire BS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Yorkshire BS?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner can levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Yorkshire BS but by your Grimsby conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Yorkshire BS panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Grimsby. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A couple of days later, the conveyancer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Skipton 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 Skipton 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.
Is it necessary to pay for insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when acquiring a property in Grimsby?
Unless a previous purchase of the property completed after 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Grimsby to continue to recommend a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Grimsby with a loan from The Mortgage Works. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with The Mortgage Works. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am looking for a conveyancing solicitor in Grimsby for my home move. Is it possible to see a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
One may find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations stemming from investigations started on or after 1 January 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor telephone calls for training requirements.