I am six weeks into the sale of my maisonette in Ponthir and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Ponthir ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed 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 being contacted daily by practices 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. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
We are only a couple days away from an exchange on a property in Ponthir and my parents have transferred the exchange deposit to my solicitor. I am now advised that as the deposit has not arrived from me my property lawyer needs to disclose this to my bank. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the mortgage company concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for this now to be an issue?
Your conveyancer is legally required to check with mortgage company to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only reveal this to your bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Ponthir last January yet the purchaser is e-mailing daily to moan that her lawyer needs to hear from mylawyer. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
Following your house sale your solicitor is obliged to forward the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Where appropriate, your lawyer must also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been discharged to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion formalities specific conveyancing in Ponthir.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Kent Reliance, do Ponthir conveyancers incur a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any lender fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with UBS. I assume I don't need a Ponthir conveyancer on the UBS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your UBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the UBS mortgage from the register. UBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where UBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- UBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Ponthir. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I have been told that property searches are the number one reason for stalling in Ponthir house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the most frequent causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Ponthir.
I have appointed a Ponthir conveyancing solicitor for our home move (FTB’s) and have picked up in the terms and conditions that they are not overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority. Am I right to be concerned or is that usually the case with property lawyer?
We can't see why they should be. Most lawyer don't lend money. You should check that they are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, who dictate stringent stipulations in place on funds deposited by them.