My husband and I are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Swindon with a mortgage. We have a Swindon lawyer, however the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or keep our Swindon conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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. Another option that might be available is for your Swindon conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My wife and I are purchasing a newly built duplex in Swindon and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the seller. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and my preference is not to delay matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I have recentlyfound out that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Swindon for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to see if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Swindon conveyancing specialists.
I'm buying my first flat in Swindon benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my solicitor about the extras as it would put at risk my mortgage 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.
Am I right to be suspicious about brokers that I am dealing with are recommending a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Swindon conveyancing practice?
As with lots of professional services, often suggestions from family and friends can be most helpful. But there are many players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all put forward solicitors to appoint. On occasion these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there may be a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to appoint your own conveyancer. However, bear in mind that the majority of banks have an approved list of law firms you have to use for the lender aspect of your conveyancing.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the lender conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the mortgage company approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the bank conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the lender solicitor panel.