We are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Hope with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Hope solicitor, however the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no choice but to instruct one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Hope lawyer and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Hope conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We're in Hope, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Barclays , and our solicitor is on the Barclays conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
My relative advised me that where I am buying in Hope I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Hope conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Hope around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Hope Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Hope.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Hope?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Hope. 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…’
Am I better off to appoint a Hope conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can execute the conveyancing but his firm is located 400miles drive away.
The benefit of a high street Hope conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to sign documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Hope know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and on the whole were content that should trump using an unfamiliar Hope conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being based in the area.
I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Hope. I need to find out if they are listed on the bank's approved list of lawyers. Can you help?
One option is to contact the lawyer and ask them if they are on the lender's panel. If that does not help get in touch with us and we can make some checks for you. Should the firm not be on the bank panel we can certainly arrange a quality conveyancing solicitor in Hope on the approved list for your lender.