I am in the process of selling my home in Hazel Grove and the EA has just text me to say that the purchasers are swapping conveyancer. The excuse is that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Hazel Grove ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say 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 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 purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Hazel Grove? What am I being asked for?
Hazel Grove conveyancing solicitors and indeed property lawyers throughout the UK have a duty under Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules to verify the identity of any client in order to satisfy themselves that clients are who they say they are.
Conveyancing clients are required to disclose two forms of certified ID; proof of identity (usually a Passport or Driving Licence) and proof of address (typically a Utility Bill less than 3 months old).
Evidence of the origin of monies is also necessary under the money laundering laws as conveyancers are mandated to check that the funds you are using to buy a property (whether it be the deposit for exchange or the full purchase amount where you are buying without a mortgage) has come from a reputable source (such as employment savings) rather than the product of illegitimate activity.
My lawyer in Hazel Grove has never been on on the Santander Solicitor Panel. Can I still use my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Santander list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your preferred Hazel Grove solicitors but Santander will need to use a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges as well as cause delays.
- Get an alternative practitioner to to deal with the conveyancing, remembering to check they are Persuade your conveyancer to do everything within their powers to join the Santander conveyancing panel
Hoping to buy a property located in Hazel Grove and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Hazel Grove. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Hazel Grove area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Hazel Grove. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
Am I best advised to instruct a Hazel Grove conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can carry out the legal formalities but his firm is located 300kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a local Hazel Grove conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, deliver your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local Hazel Grove know how is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and they were impressed that should outweigh using an unknown Hazel Grove conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Hazel Grove based.
Midway through the sale of a leasehold flat in Hazel Grove. Conveyancing is fine but we have been asked to pay an extortionate amount by the freeholder. To date we have paid £225 for a leasehold management information and then another £117.20 for responses to questions raised by the purchaser's solicitor.
You will not have control over the level of the bill for this information however the average costs for the information for Hazel Grove leasehold premises is £355. When it comes to Hazel Grove conveyancing transactions it is conventional for the seller to cover the costs. The freeholder or their agents are under no statutory obligation to answer such questions although many will be content to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices disproportionate to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no legislation that requires set charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any prescriptive time limit by which they are obliged to provide answers.