I am selling my house in Tintern and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Tintern ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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 buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
Our solicitor has discovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Tintern. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer says that he must be satisfied that the bank is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their specifications for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. You and the lender are the client. The appropriate lender conditions have to be complied with.
The Tintern conveyancing firm that just started acting on my purchase in Tintern have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel and my preferred Tintern lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Santander conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Tintern I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Tintern for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you require a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
My company is looking to take over a lease of a shop on the high street. Can you recommend lawyers offering no-sale-no fees for commercial conveyancing in Tintern for under £1,200?
We can recommend firms who have specialist knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Tintern, including the disposal and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. If you are looking to buy or lease a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we will find you the right lawyer. As for the fees these will vary based on the structure and nuances of the deal. Let us have your details or phone us so that we can provide you with a detailed commercial conveyancing calculation.
My mortgage broker has recommended their property lawyer for my conveyancing in Tintern - Is it not simpler easier to just instruct them?
It is not always the case and you are free to instruct whichever solicitor you decide for your Tintern home move. A conveyancing practitioner put forward by an estate agent may not always be the right lawyer, they may recommend their preferred conveyancing firm who are based remotely. In this instance you may not have contact with your lawyer and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain updates.