I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in Preston and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are swapping property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Preston ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, 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 pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I purchased a freehold property in Preston yet pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Preston and has limited impact for conveyancing in Preston but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a searchable register to to identify firms on the Loughborough BS conveyancing panel for instance in Preston?
Lexsure has not been advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility.
We are buying a apartment in Preston. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we will need to deposit money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
When it comes to lenders such as Kent Reliance, do Preston property lawyers incur an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We previously selected solicitors based in Preston on the RBS solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a supplemental sum for the legal aspects of the RBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by RBS?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your lawyer may charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by RBS but by your Preston lawyer. Plenty of firms on the RBS panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years past for my conveyancing in Preston. I now require my papers but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Preston of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
A conveyancing firm handled my conveyancing in Preston four years past and was holding my title documents but has since been shut down – What steps do I now take to retreive these?
Deeds, as such, no longer exist as the majority of homes in Preston are recorded digitally at Land Registry. If you need to show ownership or are disposing of or refinancing your conveyancing practitioner can obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.
If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned as quickly as possible.