My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a home in North London and have instructed a North London conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Virgin Money have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our North London conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 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 North London lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My partner and I have recently purchased a property in North London. We have since encountered a number of issues with the property which we consider were omitted in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? Can you clarify the type of searches that needed to have been ordered as part of conveyancing in North London?
The query is vague as what problems have arisen and if they are specific to conveyancing in North London. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken as part of the legal transfer of property are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a seller completes a questionnaire called a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers provided is inaccurate, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in North London.
My apartment in North London is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will my conveyancing practitioner need to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently in recent years.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as UBS, do North London conveyancing practitioners have to pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Can you point me to a directory of Principality panel conveyancers in North London on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association sites. Very few lending institutions make their panel listings available online. If you are in need of a North London lawyer on the Principality please use our facility.
I am purchasing a property in North London. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Kent Reliance be concerned?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Kent Reliance your lawyer must check the conveyancing requirements contained in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Kent Reliance. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Kent Reliance where a lease does not comply with these specifications. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to North London.
I'm purchasing my first flat in North London with a mortgage from Barclays . The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with Barclays . Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in North London prior to appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in North London. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in North London especially if they are acquainted with such properties in North London.