I am selling my ground floor flat in Towcester and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major lender only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Towcester ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say 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. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
When does exchange of contracts happen for sale conveyancing in Towcester and do I need to attend the conveyancers office?
Where you are round the corner to our conveyancing solicitors in Towcester you are welcome to come in to sign documents. However, the lender approved solicitors we recommend provide a national conveyancing service and provide as equally detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The executing of the contract is not the point of no return. A signed contract is necessary for the firm to address the formalities at the suitable time, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The exchange process is is usually a five minute process, although where a lengthy "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Towcester)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
My grandfather passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Towcester. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to HSBC, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Where you plan to refinance then HSBC will require that you use a conveyancer on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your HSBC conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the HSBC mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I'm the sole beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Towcester. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in January. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship may be considered the same way as if I'd bought the property in January. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be caught by that. Some banks would take a sensible view as this obligation primarily exists to identify subsales or the flipping of property.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, RBS are being difficult. The Towcester solicitor who is on the RBS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but RBS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do RBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that RBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why RBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I had an offer accepted on a house in Towcester on 12/1/2026, valuation was booked 4 days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Coventry BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Coventry BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Will my lawyer be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Towcester.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Towcester. There are those who buy a property in Towcester, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of searches that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their solicitors which can figure out the risks in Towcester. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a standard question of the vendor to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the property has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser may commence a claim for damages stemming from an incorrect response. A buyer’s conveyancers will also commission an environmental report. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be made.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Towcester ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to issue a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Towcester. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Towcester to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.