I am nearing exchange of contracts for my home in Halesworth and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are changing their conveyancer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Halesworth ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.
Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. 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 being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that 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 unlikely to have any impact on this.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is suspended from the Santander Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Halesworth?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. 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 at a cost.
Have purchased a a detached house in Halesworth , how long should it take for the Land Registry to record my title? My Halesworth conveyancing solicitor has been painfully slow, so I want to check that my purchase is registered.
As far as conveyancing in Halesworth registration is no faster or slower than the rest of the country. Rather than based on location, timeframes can adjust according to who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry communicate with any 3rd persons or bodies. Currently approximately three quarters of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but some can be subject to extensive delays. Registration is effected after the purchaser has moved in to the property so registration formalities is not usually an essential issue yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor could speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Halesworth prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some banks will refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Halesworth. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Is it simple use your search app to find a conveyancing solicitor in Halesworth on the authorised to act for my mortgage?
First select a lender such as Lloyds TSB Bank, Virgin Money or Barclays Direct then specify your location e.g. Halesworth. Conveyancing organisations in Halesworth and beyond should be listed.
We are about to buying a flat in Halesworth. Conveyancing is not yet done but we wish to keep our transaction price confidential from sites such as Zoopla. what can I do to make sure this is not revealed?
HM Land Registry by statute are obliged to specify price paid data on the official title for residential properties nationwide including properties in Halesworth. The register of title is a public document, so HMLR would be breaching their statutory obligations excluded specific homes such as your property in Halesworth.
In essence you can make a request of the Land Registry to hide the amount paid data yet the answer will be a No.