My partner and I are hoping to buy a home in Hambleton and have instructed a Hambleton conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Alliance & Leicester have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hambleton solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hambleton lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
The housing market in Hambleton is hotting up. What can I do to expedite matters?
First, If the seller is applying time constraints to exchange it is highly recommended that your lawyer is familiar with the area as they will have local relationships and insight. It is possible that they would have conducted otherhouses in the same neighbourhood. You would be best advised to use a Hambleton conveyancing lawyer. Second, be sure that the conveyancing firm is on the member panel. It is believed that nearly one in five of Hambleton conveyancing transactions are frustrated or jeopardised after discovering a purchaser’s conveyancer was not on their banks list of approved solicitors. In many cases this discovery resulted in the transaction being held up by as much as 21 days. It is estimated that this issue affects approximately one hundred thousand home sales every year. Almost all Hambleton conveyancing practices can not act for certain banks so do check at the outset.
Do I choose a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Hambleton?
There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Hambleton and Solicitor practices in Hambleton offering conveyancing We would stress that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. Both can deal with other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
Is it the case that all Hambleton CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Lloyds conveyancing list of approved firms?
It is true that some lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
I am purchasing a property in Hambleton. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. UBS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with UBS your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing instructions contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for UBS. The CML Handbook includes minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to UBS where a lease does not satisfy these requirements. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not isolated to Hambleton.
I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in Hambleton. Now, I need the documents but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Hambleton of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Hambleton prior to appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some banks tend not issue a mortgage on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Hambleton. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Hambleton especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Hambleton.
How simple is it to transfer to a new firm as I need to select one who is on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel. I instructed a family conveyancing solicitor in Hambleton round the corner but she is not approved by Godiva Mortgages Ltd
It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in Hambleton on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd panel. Please note that the law firms that we work with do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Hambleton. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this page, you can scrutinise fees for conveyancing solicitors in Hambleton and throughout England and Wales.