I am not in a position to travel far from Stansted. What is the rationale as to why all Stansted conveyancing practitioners are not on all mortgage company panels?
Mortgage companies highlight the fact that solicitor-led fraud is considered to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud annually.The elimination of law firms off of lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the Financial Services Authority in 2011. Its outcome included recommendations for lending institutions to review their conveyancing panels, which triggered a major policy change in the sector. It led to mortgage companies removing a number of firms from their books of approved solicitors .
Can you help? My Stansted conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound toorder Stansted conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Santandersolicitor panel. Do I not have any say here?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Stansted conveyancing searches.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Stansted with a mortgage from National Westminster Bank. The sellers would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it will put at risk my loan with National Westminster Bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I was advised by a couple of local selling agents in Stansted to select a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to recommend your lawyers over and above a competitor’s?
We refuse to offer any referral fee for sending work our way. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Am I best advised to go with a Stansted conveyancing solicitor based in the location that I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can handle the legal formalities however his firm is located approximately 350miles away.
The benefit of a high street Stansted conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Stansted know how is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and in the main were content that must surpass using an unfamiliar Stansted conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.
My lender have just issued us with a mortgage offer. We are using a high street conveyancer in Stansted last week. Today, our broker phoned to advise us that the mortgage company said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their panel. As FTB's, we had no idea that the mortgage company had some control over our choice Is this legal?
You are permitted to choose any property lawyer you want to choose including the said conveyancer in Stansted however if your bank aren't happy with them you must incur additional cost so the mortgage company can appoint their own lawyers. It may be conceivable that your solicitor may apply to get included on to the lender list of approved firms. You can use internet search facilities such as lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Stansted on the mortgage company panel. You can go into your high street mortgage company branch in Stansted. They can recommend conveyancing solicitors in Stansted on the approved list.