I am in the process of selling my apartment in Southville and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are switching conveyancer. The excuse is that the lender 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 appoint to handle their conveyancing in Southville ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Lenders attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
How can we tell if a Southville conveyancing solicitor on the Skipton panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Southville obtaining recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always advise that you speak with the lawyer handling your transaction.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Yorkshire BS. Southville conveyancing practitioners were chosen. How long does it take for Yorkshire BS to send the offer to the property lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Yorkshire BS conducted the survey? Have you advised Yorkshire BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Southville. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A few days later, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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.
Will my lawyer be raising enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Southville.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Southville. There are those who acquire a house in Southville, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous checks that may be carried out by the buyer or by their conveyancers which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Southville. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the owner to discover whether the property has historically flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past which is not notified by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers will also order an enviro report. This will reveal if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be initiated.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Southville?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Southville. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial property in Southville and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to affords protection to commercial leaseholders, giving them the legal entitlement to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease reaches an end. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing solicitors who use the act for protection and help with commercial conveyancing in Southville
My husband and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Southville. At the point of instructing our conveyancer, they told us that they were on all mainstream lender panels. The mortgage broker emailed just now to advise that they don't appear to be on the UBS approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Should we just find a different conveyancing practitioner that is on their approved list or do we pay for separate representation, with UBS appointing their own approved conveyancer.
When buying a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the buyer’s solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the conveyancing practitioner to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the lawyer has to satisfy. Some banks now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your conveyancer should contact UBS to discover 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 UBS's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Southville solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.