Me and my fiance are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Stansted with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Stansted solicitor, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or keep our Stansted conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Stansted conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My wife and I are refinancing our penthouse in Stansted with Barclays. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Barclays had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Can I use your services to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Stansted even where I’m not buying or selling a house, for example if I want to buy an office in Stansted with a mortgage from Halifax?
Our comparison service is predominantly there to locate residential conveyancing solicitors in Stansted but we have set out at the end of this page some Stansted commercial conveyancing firms. You should speak with the company directly to see if they are also authorised to represent Halifax
My fiance and I are hoping to buy a newbuild flat in Stansted with a residential mortgage from Bank of Ireland.We have a Stansted conveyancing lawyer but Bank of Ireland advised that his firm is not listed on their approved list of member firms. we are left little option but to use a Bank of Ireland panel solicitor or retain our preferred solicitor and pay for a Bank of Ireland panel lawyer to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that solicitors will be on the Bank of Ireland approved list. in the past, most mortgage companies 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland
A relative recommended that if I am buying in Stansted I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Stansted conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Stansted around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Stansted Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Stansted.
Given that I am about to spend over three hundred thousand on a garden flat in Stansted I would like to talk to a solicitor about myhome move prior to instructing the firm. Can this be arranged?
Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the lawyer due to be conducting your property ownership legalities in Stansted.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique person, not a matter number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for your conveyancing in Stansted should be the figure that you are charged.