My wife and I are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Mawsley with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Mawsley lawyer, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or keep our Mawsley conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This feels 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 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. A further alternative is for your Mawsley conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The Mawsley conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Mawsley have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel and my preferred Mawsley lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT on account. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Skipton conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to assist.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Mawsley. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Nottingham have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Nottingham your lawyer must comply with the formal instructions contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Nottingham. The CML Handbook includes minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Nottingham where a lease fails to comply with these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not restricted to Mawsley.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Mawsley. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Not long after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB 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 TSB 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.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Mawsley solicitor - who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Barclays will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Barclays 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. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Mawsley postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Mawsley.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Mawsley is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Mawsley are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Mawsley you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Mawsley may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
How do I use the search app to choose a conveyancing solicitor in Mawsley on the approved list for my bank?
Step one is to choose a lender such as Santander, Leeds Building Society or Alliance & Leicester then type in your preferred area a common one being Mawsley. Conveyancing organisations in Mawsley and nationally will then be listed.
Should I appoint a Mawsley conveyancing solicitor based in the vicinity that I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can execute the legal work however they are based 200kilometers away.
The primary upside of using a high street Mawsley conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, deliver your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Mawsley know how is a bonus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were impressed that must outweigh using an unknown Mawsley conveyancing lawyer just because they are Mawsley based.