My partner and I are planning to buy a home in Melbourn and are in fact using a Melbourn conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Clydesdale have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Melbourn lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Melbourn lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Barclays Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Melbourn?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
Various internet forums that I have come across warn that are the main cause of hinderance in Melbourn house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Melbourn.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Melbourn is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Melbourn are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Melbourn you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Melbourn may decide 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.
Should I be wary by third parties that I am dealing with are suggesting a web based conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Melbourn conveyancing company?
As with lots of service providers, often recommendations from family and friends can be worth their weight in gold. But there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and banks might all put forward solicitors to use. On occasion the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to choose your own lawyer. Don't forget that most banks have an approved list of law firms you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your transaction.
My husband and I are FTB’s - agreed a price, yet the selling agent has warned us that the seller will only go ahead if we instruct the agent's chosen conveyancers as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Melbourn
It is highly unlikely the sellers are behind this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Avoid the agents and go straight to the sellers and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to use your own,trusted Melbourn conveyancing lawyers - as opposed tothe ones that will provide their negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or meet his conveyancing figures set by head office.