Me and my partner are hoping to buy a 1 bedroom flat in Market Harborough with a mortgage. We have a Market Harborough lawyer, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or keep our Market Harborough solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent 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. Another option that might be available is for your Market Harborough conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My lawyer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Market Harborough. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancing practitioner says that he must check that the mortgage company is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Is it correct that all Market Harborough CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Barclays conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Santander. Market Harborough conveyancing practitioners are selected. How long does it take for Santander to forward the offer to the lawyer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Santander done the survey? Have you informed Santander as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Santander conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Skipton. I assume I don't need a Market Harborough conveyancing practitioner on the Skipton panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Skipton mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Skipton mortgage from the register. Skipton, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Skipton has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Skipton has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house can not be found. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Market Harborough 10 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and get current copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one near me in Market Harborough I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Market Harborough for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
Much to my surprise my solicitor in Market Harborough has informed me that he requires proof of ID documents saying that this is part of his requirements as a conveyancer on the bank Solicitor panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require Market Harborough conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that the bank also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the lender's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements