I am one month into the sale of my house in Northampton and the estate agent has just text me to advise that the purchasers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Northampton ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
We hope to to buy with Loughborough BS. We have called around locally but am unable to find a Northampton conveyancing firm on the Loughborough BS approved list. Can you help?
You should make the most of the search tool on this site. Please choose the building society and type Northampton or your location and you will discover numerous solicitors based in Northampton or by proximity to you.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Virgin Money, do Northampton conveyancers have to pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We previously chose solicitors located in Northampton on the Santander solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a supplemental sum for the legal aspects of the Santander mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Santander?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancer may charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Santander but by your Northampton property lawyer. Some firms on the Santander panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Nottingham are being difficult. The Northampton solicitor who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Nottingham are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nottingham have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nottingham have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nottingham 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.
My friend recommended that where I am purchasing in Northampton I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Northampton conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Northampton around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Northampton Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Northampton.
It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in Northampton took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
What makes your site different to other online quote calculators when it comes to conveyancing in Northampton?
At this site obtain a fixed fee quote via a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that understands the issues for your conveyancing in Northampton. As opposed to estate agents and many comparison sites we do not charge firms a commission if you instruct them for your property ownership legalities in Northampton