I am one month into the sale of my home in Leyton and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Leyton ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise 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.
We had instructed conveyancers based in Leyton on the Nottingham solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a supplemental sum for handling the Nottingham mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Nottingham?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor may charge a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Nottingham but by your Leyton conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Nottingham panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I am buying a property in Leyton. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Lloyds have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Lloyds your lawyer must follow the formal requirements outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Lloyds. The CML Handbook includes minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Lloyds where a lease fails to comply with these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Leyton.
Nationwide have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a property in Leyton has been accepted, now what?
Your property agent will need to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the solicitors are on the lender’s approved list). Call up Nationwide or the financial adviser and complete any appropriate paperwork. Nationwide will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a week to receive the mortgage offer. Nationwide will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Leyton.
I used Wolstenholmes a few years past for my conveyancing in Leyton. Now, I need the documents but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Leyton of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I decided to have a survey completed on a property in Leyton in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Leyton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Leyton to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Leyton for my purchase. Is there any facility to see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?
One can search for documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor telephone calls for training purposes.
Our conveyancing in Leyton is set to complete this Friday, yet the sellers I am purchasing off has asked to vacate 24 hours later at PM. Can I accept such a idea?
Where you require a loan then your property lawyer will require that you have vacant possession on Friday - the mortgage company will demand it.