My fiance and I are looking to purchase a house in Par and have appointed a Par conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Scotland have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Par conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers 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 solicitor should contact your bank 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Par lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We just had an offer accepted to purchase with Darlington Building Society. We have called around locally but cant to find a Par conveyancing firm on the Darlington Building Society approved list. Can you assist?
Please do make the most of the search tool on this web page. Please choose the mortgage company and type Par or your location and you will see a number of lawyer located in Par or near you.
I am assisting my sister sell her flat in Par. Will the conveyancing solicitor arrange an EPC or it is for the owner to see to?
After the abolition of Home Packs, energy assessments was kept a compulsory part of moving property. An EPC must be commissioned prior to the property being marketed. It is not something that solicitors normally organise. Where you are instructing a Par conveyancing solicitor they may help arrange energy performance certificates given their relationships with long established local energy assessors
Is it correct that all Par CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Virgin Money conveyancing list of approved practices?
A selection of banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Leeds Building Society are being problematic. The Par solicitor who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Leeds Building Society are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Leeds Building Society have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Leeds Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Leeds Building Society 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.
How does conveyancing in Par differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Par approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because builders in Par usually buy the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Par or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Par in advance of instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Halifax. If you contact us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Par. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
We're first time buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the agent told us that the owners will only proceed if we use their preferred solicitors as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street conveyancer used to conveyancing in Par
We suspect that the owner is unaware of this requirement. If they require ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a genuine purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Avoid the agents and go straight to the owners and make the point that (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are unencumbered (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you are going to instruct your own,trusted Par conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will give the negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing targets set by HQ.