My fiance and I are planning to acquire a home in Hitchin and have appointed a Hitchin conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Britannia have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Hitchin conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hitchin lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We were just about to sign contracts for a ground floor flat in Hitchin. We have hit a snag. The mortgage offer with Virgin Money expires on 10/11/2025 but the owners are putting forward a completion date of 12/11/2025. Is it possible to prolong the loan expiry date?
The person best placed to deal with your concern is your solicitors who should calculate whether he or she is should be discussing with the mortgage broker, seller’s conveyancers, estate agents or indeed all parties based on the history of your conveyancing as of today.
Are the BSA intent on creating a search tool with a view to list practices on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel for example in Hitchin?
We are not aware of any intention on the part of the BSA to develop such a search facility.
I am the only recipient of my late mum's estate and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Hitchin. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in August. I plan to dispose of the property. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in August. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?
The CML handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you could be affected by that. many banks would take a pragmatic view as this requirement principally exists to identify subsales or the quick reselling of properties.
Is it the case that all Hitchin CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing list of approved practices?
Some major lenders now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their panels.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Hitchin. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £175. A couple of days later, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Coventry 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 Coventry 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.
I completed on my house on 11 July and the transaction details is yet to be registered. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Hitchin expressed confidence that it will be formalised in less than a month. Are properties in Hitchin uniquely lengthy to register?
There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Hitchin registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ subject to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry must send notices to any interested persons or bodies. At present approximately 80% of submission are fully addressed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive delays. Registration takes place after the new owner is living at the premises thus post completion formalities is not typically an essential issue yet where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor can speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Hitchin ahead of instructing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold house.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements from Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Hitchin. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Hitchin to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.