We are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Thorpe Astley with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Thorpe Astley lawyer, however the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or keep our Thorpe Astley conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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. A further alternative is for your Thorpe Astley conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My property lawyer in Thorpe Astley is not on the Halifax Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Halifax panel?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Thorpe Astley solicitors but Halifax will need to use a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall conveyancing fees as well as cause delays.
- Choose a new practitioner to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are Halifax approved.
- Try to convince your Halifax based solicitor to attempt to join the Halifax panel
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Nationwide. Thorpe Astley conveyancing lawyers have been selected. How long does it take for Nationwide to issue the offer to the solicitor?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Nationwide completed the survey? Have you informed Nationwide as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I have paid off my mortgage with RBS. I assume I don't need a Thorpe Astley solicitor on the RBS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your RBS 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 RBS mortgage from the register. RBS, 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 RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Thorpe Astley. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
Do I need to take out insurance to cover chancel repairs when acquiring a property in Thorpe Astley?
Unless a prior purchase of the house took place after 12 October 2013 you can assume that solicitors conducting conveyancing in Thorpe Astley to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
We're FTB’s - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent has warned us that the seller will only issue a contract if we use the agent's recommended solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a local solicitor with experience of conveyancing in Thorpe Astley
It is highly unlikely the owners are behind this. Should the owner want ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a serious purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Try to communicate with the vendors directly and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you will continue to appoint your preferred Thorpe Astley conveyancing lawyers - as opposed tothe ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a kickback or hit his conveyancing targets pre-set by HQ.
Do online conveyancing organisations do everything a local Thorpe Astley solicitor does or do I still need to retain a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in Thorpe Astley?
If you instruct an online conveyancer they will cover all the things your Thorpe Astley conveyancer would cover.