I am buying a maisonette in Hereford. My lawyer has never been on on the lender conveyancing panel. Can I still continue with my Hereford conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the lender list of approved lawyers?
Your options include
- Proceed with your existing Hereford conveyancing practitioner but your bank will no doubt use a solicitor from their conveyancing panel. The net result is additional charges together with potential frustration.
- Choose a fresh conveyancer to act in the purchase, ensuring that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Appeal to your lawyer to attempt to join the mortgage company panel
The Hereford conveyancing firm handling our Hereford conveyancing has discovered a discrepancy when comparing the information in the valuation survey and what is in the legal papers for the property. My lawyer has advised that he is obliged to ensure that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my conveyancer’s stance legitimate?
Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
We note that you have a post code search directory listing solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I retain them for our conveyancing in Hereford?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Hereford.
My fiance and I wish to acquire a newbuild apartment in Hereford with a mortgage from Bank of Ireland.We use our Hereford conveyancing lawyer but Bank of Ireland informed us she’s not on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Bank of Ireland panel firm or retain our high street solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Bank of Ireland use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage issued to you contains various provisions, one of which will be that lawyers will be on the Bank of Ireland solicitor panel. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Hereford?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Hereford. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Hereford differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Hereford approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Hereford typically buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Hereford or who has acted in the same development.