We are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in South Woodford with a mortgage. We have a South Woodford lawyer, however the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to select one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or keep our South Woodford lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to demand that the lender use our South Woodford solicitor ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: 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. A further alternative is for your South Woodford conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We were just about to sign contracts for a leasehold flat in South Woodford. We have hit a snag. Our mortgage offer with Godiva Mortgages Ltd runs out on 21/3/2025 but the owners are insisting on a completion date of 25/3/2025. Is it possible to prolong the mortgage expiry date?
The person best placed to deal with your concern is your conveyancer who will calculate if they corresponding with the bank, seller’s representatives, property agents or conceivably all parties based on the circumstances your transaction as of today.
We note that you have a post code search directory listing firms on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I appoint them for our conveyancing in South Woodford?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in South Woodford.
We are getting the release of further monies on our mortgage from Skipton as we wish to conduct renovations to our house in South Woodford. Are we obliged to select a nearby South Woodford solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Skipton would not normally require firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Skipton list.
I am buying a property in South Woodford. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. RBS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with RBS your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing requirements outlined in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for RBS. The CML Handbook sets out minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to RBS where a lease fails to satisfy these specifications. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to South Woodford.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in South Woodford. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £225. A few days later, the solicitor contacted me to say that they were not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Aldermore panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
A relative advised me that where I am purchasing in South Woodford I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your South Woodford conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about South Woodford around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, South Woodford Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about South Woodford.
I was recommended by a few estate agents in South Woodford to get a quote from a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your site over and above another?
We don’t offer any referral fee for sending work to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.