I am nearing exchange of contracts for my maisonette in Surrey and the estate agent has just called to warn that the buyers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Surrey ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – 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 being contacted daily by practices 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
I am in a contract race with another prospective purchaser for a property in Surrey. What can I do to expedite matters?
In the event that the seller is applying time constraints to sign contracts it is highly recommended that your solicitor is familiar with the area as they will have local contacts and intelligence. It is possible that they may have transacted otherproperties in the same street. Therefore consider using a Surrey conveyancing solicitor. In addition, ensure that the lawyer is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is believed that 18% of Surrey conveyancing transactions are suspended or jeopardised after discovering a purchaser’s lawyer was not on their mortgage lender’s panel. This can often result in the legal transfer of property being delayed by as much as three weeks. It is said that this issue affects approximately 100,000 home sales every year. Many Surrey conveyancing firms can not represent certain lenders so do check as early as possible.
We note that you have a search directory identifying firms on the RBS conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I appoint them for our own conveyancing in Surrey?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the RBS conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Surrey.
Is there a search tool that I can use to discover of the solicitor conducting my conveyancing in Surrey is on the bank’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for The Royal Bank of Scotland thus spending £175.00 in additional conveyancing costs.
Please do take advantage of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this site. Pick the mortgage company and type ‘Surrey’ or your location and you will see a number of lawyer offices in Surrey or nearest you.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and found one near me in Surrey I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Surrey suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for sale conveyancing in Surrey. I happened to land on a site which appears to be the ideal offering If it is possible to get all this stuff done via web that would be ideal. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?