We are intending to buy a 1 bedroom apartment in Lichfield with a mortgage. We have a Lichfield solicitor, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or keep our Lichfield conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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. Another option that might be available is for your Lichfield conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We are planning to acquire a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in Lichfield who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Lichfield.
When it comes to lenders such as Kent Reliance, do Lichfield conveyancing practitioners incur an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
Is it the case that all Lichfield solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Bank of Ireland approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be governed by the CLC.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Lichfield. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Not long after, the conveyancer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Aldermore 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 Aldermore 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.
How does conveyancing in Lichfield differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Lichfield approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Lichfield usually buy the land, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Lichfield or who has acted in the same development.
How do I identify a Lichfield law firm on the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am happy to travel upto 10miles to meet the solicitor.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Lichfield conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Lichfield conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to check whether they are on the Alliance & Leicester approved list
We are considering using a web based solicitor as opposed to a Lichfield conveyancing practice. Am I making a mistake?
Advantages do exist in being able to visit a local Lichfield conveyancing solicitor such as
- signing papers and and when necessary
- sometimes being able to speak to someone face-to-face can make a huge difference, particularly for non-standard house moves
- the ability to complain if things are not going as expected
When checking fees, look out for hidden extras. The majority decent Lichfield high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Often online agents appear to offer low cost fees, yet have burried 'extras' in the in the terms and conditions.