Me and my partner are hoping to buy a 2 bedroom apartment in Harefield with a mortgage. We like our Harefield conveyancer, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to instruct one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or keep our Harefield conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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 Harefield conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We just had an offer accepted to purchase with Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I went into 3 or 4 local solicitors yet cant to find a Harefield conveyancing firm on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society panel. Could you help?
Feel free to take advantage of the search tool on this web page. Please choose the lender and type Harefield or your location and you will discover numerous conveyancers based in Harefield or near you.
This question may be naive but I am new to the home moving as a first time purchaser of a ground floor flat in Harefield. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Harefield?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
How can we tell if a Harefield conveyancing solicitor on the Lloyds panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Harefield getting recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer handling your transaction.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Harefield. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A few days later, the solicitor called me to say that they were not on the Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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.
My partner and I are selling our home in Harefield and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a factory type conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Harefield. We have lived in Harefield for six years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to seek confirmation need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £195,000 and found one near me in Harefield I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Harefield for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years will be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
My husband and I are new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, yet the agent advised that the owners will only proceed if we use the agent's chosen conveyancers as they need a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street solicitor with experience of conveyancing in Harefield
We suspect that the owner is unaware of this ultimatum. Should the vendor require ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a serious purchaser is counter productive. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you are going to use your preferred Harefield conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a referral fee or meet his conveyancing targets set by corporate headquarters.