My fiance and I are looking to acquire a home in Old Malden and are in fact using a Old Malden conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Halifax have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Old Malden lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Old Malden 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.
How up to date is your database of Old Malden solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel? Do Aldermore send you an updated list?
Old Malden conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Aldermore directly.
I am assisting my aunt sell her house in Old Malden. Does the conveyancer commission an energy performance certificate or do I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was kept a compulsory element of moving property. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned before the property is marketed. It is not something that conveyancers normally arrange. If you are using a Old Malden conveyancing lawyer they might be able to arrange energy assessments given their contacts with reputable Old Malden assessors
We expect to receive a DIP from Lloyds this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Lloyds recommend any Old Malden solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Old Malden solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Lloyds through the process.
I have finally had an offer on an apartment in Old Malden accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have put an offer on a flat, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other flats booked. I have chosen a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Old Malden. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Santander started?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Old Malden conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must ensure that your property lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market the majority of home buyers will apply for a home loan with Santander and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their lawyer to press on with the conveyancing in Old Malden.
The deeds to my property are lost. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in Old Malden 4 years ago have long since closed. What are my options?
Assuming you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be retained by HMLR under a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your property and secure up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.
We're first time buyers - agreed a price, yet the selling agent has warned us that the vendor will only issue a contract if we use their recommended conveyancers as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Old Malden
We suspect that the seller is not behind this ultimatum. Should the vendor want ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated buyer is counter productive. Avoid the agents and go straight to the owners and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you intend to use your own,trusted Old Malden conveyancing solicitors - rather thanthose that will earn their estate agent a referral fee or hit his conveyancing figures set by HQ.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the lender approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the bank conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the lender solicitor panel.