I am selling my home in Tintern and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are switching conveyancer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle 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 considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.
It is a dozen years since I bought my home in Tintern. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't find the deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by the lender or they could stored with the conveyancers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Tintern relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Tintern for our home move. Our broker has since advised us that our mortgage company Nationwide Building Society won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?
A bank may direct that an approved conveyancer act for it. You would be liable to meet the cost of this. Try using our tool to choose a solicitor to carry conveyancing in Tintern on the Nationwide Building Society approved list of solicitors.
We had chosen conveyancing lawyers with offices in Tintern on the Santander solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a separate amount for dealing with the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Santander?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor may charge a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by Santander but by your Tintern property lawyer. Numerous firms on the Santander panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I am buying a property in Tintern. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Co-operative be concerned?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Co-operative your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Co-operative. The CML Handbook includes minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Co-operative where a lease does not satisfy these conditions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Tintern.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Principality. I assume I don't need a Tintern conveyancing practitioner on the Principality panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Principality 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 Principality mortgage from the register. Principality, 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 Principality has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Principality has instructed the Land Registry to do so
How does conveyancing in Tintern differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Tintern contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because builders in Tintern tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Tintern or who has acted in the same development.
My uncle has suggested that I use his conveyancers in Tintern. Should I find my own solicitor?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Tintern conveyancing lawyer the best way to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to get referrals from friends or family who have experience in using the firm you're are thinking of instructing.