My partner and I are hoping to acquire a property in Littleborough and have appointed a Littleborough conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Littleborough lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Littleborough solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Littleborough. I I would like to check if they are accepted on the Alliance & Leicester approved list of lawyers. Can you advise?
You should e-mail your conveyancer and ask them if they are on the lender panel. Otherwise you should get in touch with Alliance & Leicester who may be able to confirm.
Is it the case that all Littleborough conveyancing solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
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. The majority of banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be regulated by the CLC.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Lloyds are being pedantic. The Littleborough solicitor who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Lloyds are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Lloyds have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Lloyds have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Lloyds 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.
Skipton have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in Littleborough has been agreed to, what are the next steps?
The property agent will want to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the solicitors are on the lender’s panel). Contact Skipton or your broker and finish off any appropriate documentation. Skipton will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or vendor to schedule a slot for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. Skipton will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Littleborough.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are the main reason for stalling in Littleborough conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Littleborough.
How do I identify a Littleborough law firm on the Aldermore conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am happy to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the tool on this website. Please pick a bank and your location and you will see a number of Littleborough conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Littleborough conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to verify if they are on the Aldermore member panel
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing practitioner in Littleborough for my home move. Is it possible to check a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
One may review published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may recorded telephone calls for training purposes.