I am six weeks into the sale of my ground floor flat in Tisbury and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Tisbury ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, 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 represented them for more than 15 years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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. 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.
My grandson is purchasing a new build apartment in Tisbury with a mortgage from Barclays. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Barclays conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My wife and I are downsizing from our property in Tisbury and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Tisbury conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed an internet conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Tisbury. We have lived in Tisbury for six years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Tisbury?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Tisbury. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Tisbury in advance of instructing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks may not give a loan on such a home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Tisbury. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Tisbury to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Much to my surprise my property lawyer in Tisbury is asking me for personal identification documents asserting that this forms part of his requirements as a solicitor on the bank Conveyancing panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the mortgage company. This is not unique to conveyancing in Tisbury