My partner and I are planning to purchase a flat in Shinfield and Arborfield and have appointed a Shinfield and Arborfield conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Shinfield and Arborfield lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Shinfield and Arborfield solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My brother and I have just bought a house in Shinfield and Arborfield. We have since encountered a number of problems with the house which we suspect were missed in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that should have been carried out for conveyancing in Shinfield and Arborfield?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are specific to conveyancing in Shinfield and Arborfield. Conveyancing searches and investigations initiated during the legal transfer of property are designed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a seller completes a questionnaire called a Seller’s Property Information Form. If the information is inaccurate, you could possibly take legal action against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Shinfield and Arborfield.
My property lawyer in Shinfield and Arborfield has never been on on the The Mortgage Works Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the The Mortgage Works panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Shinfield and Arborfield solicitors but The Mortgage Works will need to use a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional total legal charges and cause frustration.
- Get an alternative solicitor to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are The Mortgage Works approved.
- Persuade your The Mortgage Works solicitor to try to join the The Mortgage Works panel
I have been told that property searches are the main reason for hinderance in Shinfield and Arborfield conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Shinfield and Arborfield.
2 months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Shinfield and Arborfield completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 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 property 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.
My husband and I are hoping to buy a three room first floor flatin Shinfield and Arborfield with a home loan from a bank. We have a conveyancer in Shinfield and Arborfield but our bank advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint from the our bank panel firms or keep our Shinfield and Arborfield conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that our lender use our Shinfield and Arborfield lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The lender mortgage issued is subject to conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the mortgage company's conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had open panels, including many conveyancing solicitors in Shinfield and Arborfield : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.