I am in the process of selling my maisonette in Holland Park and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Holland Park ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is removed from the Principality Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Holland Park?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I had a mortgage agreed in principle with HSBC. Holland Park conveyancing lawyers have been instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from HSBC?
There is no definitive answer here. Have HSBC done the valuation? Have you advised HSBC as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the HSBC conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Santander are being pedantic. The Holland Park solicitor who is on the Santander conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Santander are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Santander have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Santander have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Santander may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Our sealed bid on a semi in Holland Park has been agreed to, the sellers do however have a tied purchase. The owners have placed an offer on a flat, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Holland Park. What do I do now? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with UBS?
It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Holland Park conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your conveyancer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent steps this very much dictated by the circumstances of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market many buyers would apply for the mortgage with UBS and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their property lawyer to move forward with searches.
Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may affect a commercial site in Holland Park?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Holland Park will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers invest in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Holland Park. The search result sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Holland Park.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Holland Park it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately may result in delays to Holland Park commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Holland Park.
How does conveyancing in Holland Park differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Holland Park approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because house builders in Holland Park tend to acquire 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 conveyancers 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 Holland Park or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Holland Park before appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will not give a mortgage on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Holland Park. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Holland Park to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.