I am selling my apartment in Kimberley and the EA has just text me to warn that the buyers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Kimberley ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for over 25 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification 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 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. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
Would the conveyancing solicitors identified via your search tool carry out attended exchange conveyancing in Kimberley?
We do have a number of conveyancing specialists who can conduct one day exchanges. Do e-mail us to obtain a conveyancing quote and details as to dates.
We see that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I appoint them for our own conveyancing in Kimberley?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Kimberley.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as a first time purchaser of a two bedroom flat in Kimberley. Do I receive the keys to the premises on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Kimberley?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the owner’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you should be called to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.
I have instructed a Kimberley conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Kent Reliance will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Kent Reliance will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Kimberley surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
My offer on a house in Kimberley has been accepted, the owners do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The sellers have put an offer on somewhere, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in Kimberley. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with UBS started?
It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Kimberley conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is check that your lawyer is on the UBS approved list. Concerning the next stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market the majority of purchasers would apply for a home loan with UBS and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in Kimberley.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Kimberley with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent told me not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Should I go with a Kimberley conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? An old friend can carry out the conveyancing however they are based 400miles away.
The primary upside of using a high street Kimberley conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to execute documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Kimberley know how is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and the majority were happy that must outweigh using an unknown Kimberley conveyancing solicitor just because they are local.