My husband and I are looking to purchase a house in Stratford and have appointed a Stratford conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. The Mortgage Works have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Stratford conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see 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 the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Stratford lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My son-in-law is purchasing a house that has just been built in Stratford with a home loan from Aldermore. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Aldermore conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Should conveyancers request money up-front when it comes to conveyancing in Stratford?
If you are buying a property in Stratford your lawyer will ask you put them with funds to cover the search fees. Generally this is called for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the deposit is payable against the sale price then this will be asked for immediately prior to exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer a few days ahead of the completion date.
Me and my partner are purchasing a property in Stratford. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to send money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
When it comes to lenders such as HSBC, do Stratford lawyers have to pay a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Stratford solicitor - who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Stratford postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Stratford.
Various web forums that I have visited warn that are the number one cause of hinderance in Stratford conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Stratford.
I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Stratford for my home move. Is it possible to check a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
One may search for documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from inquisitions started on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA could monitor call for training reasons.