I am selling my maisonette in Stoke Bishop and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the buyers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Stoke Bishop ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. 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. Some are unaware that 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.
In the event thatI were to buy a freehold housein Stoke Bishop for cash and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much would I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Stoke Bishop?
Any savings you would gain would be isolated to the Stoke Bishop conveyancing searches. Your property lawyer is required to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, communicating with your vendors conveyancing practitioner, SDLT submission, register the property etc. A slight saving might be made by not needing to register a mortgage however it will not be a lot.
Can I use your services to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Bishop even where I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for example if I want to buy a shop in Stoke Bishop with a mortgage from National Westminster Bank?
Our comparison service is mainly utilised to help choose domestic conveyancing solicitors in Stoke Bishop but we have recorded at the end of this page a selection of Stoke Bishop commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to speak with the company directly to see if they are also authorised to represent National Westminster Bank
I am thinking of remortgaging my apartment in Stoke Bishop, does my lawyer have to be on the Aldermore Conveyancing panel?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Aldermore will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
I am helping my aunt sell her flat in Stoke Bishop. Will the conveyancing solicitor order an energy assessment or should I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy assessments remained a compulsory component of moving property. An EPC should be to hand prior to the property being placed on the market. This is not something that law firms normally arrange. If you are instructing a Stoke Bishop conveyancing lawyer they may help arrange energy assessments given their contacts with reputable Stoke Bishop energy assessors
I'm the sole beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Stoke Bishop. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in May. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership could be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in May. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be caught by that. Some banks would take a pragmatic view as this provision is principally there to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.
We had appointed conveyancers locally in Stoke Bishop on the Clydesdale solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a separate amount for handling the Clydesdale mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Clydesdale?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer is entitled to levy a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by Clydesdale but by your Stoke Bishop lawyer. Some firms on the Clydesdale panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
I am purchasing my first flat in Stoke Bishop benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not inform my lawyer about the deal as it will adversely affect my loan with the lender. 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.