I am progressing with the sale of my house in Thornton and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Thornton ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
My conveyancer has uncovered a a problem with the lease for the property we are buying in Thornton. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that he must ensure that the bank is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your solicitor will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
We are planning to acquire a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in Thornton who is on the RBS conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a local firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for RBS . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Thornton.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the home buying as a first time purchaser of a garden flat in Thornton. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on the completion date from my solicitor? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Thornton?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to collect the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
A colleague advised me that in purchasing a property in Thornton there may be various restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Thornton which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Thornton should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I have paid off my mortgage with Yorkshire BS. I assume I don't need a Thornton property lawyer on the Yorkshire BS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Yorkshire BS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Yorkshire BS mortgage from the register. Yorkshire BS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Yorkshire BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Yorkshire BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I have todayfound out that Action Conveyancing have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Thornton for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out 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 Thornton conveyancing specialists.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Thornton before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will not give a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Thornton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.