I am buying a maisonette in Twickenham. My Solicitor is not on the mortgage company solicitor panel. Am I still permitted to appoint my Twickenham conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the lender list of approved lawyers?
Various options include
- Complete the purchase with your chosen Twickenham conveyancing practitioner but your mortgage company will no doubt instruct a conveyancing practitioner from their approved panel. The net result is additional charges together with likely interruption.
- Appoint a new solicitor to conduct the conveyancing, making sure they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Convince your conveyancing practitioner to pull out all the stops to join the bank’s panel of solicitors
I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Twickenham for our house purchase. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage company Bank of Ireland won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?
Lenders on the whole imposes restrictions either the category or the amount of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, some have limited the amount of solicitor practices they use to act for them. You should note that Bank of Ireland have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Bank of Ireland Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are mixed opinions concerning the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Twickenham only carry out one or two conveyances a year.
I have paid off my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Twickenham conveyancing practitioner on the Virgin Money panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, 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 Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in August 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Leeds Building Society are being a right pain. The Twickenham solicitor who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Leeds Building Society are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Leeds Building Society have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Leeds Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Leeds Building Society 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.
Planning on purchasing a flat in Twickenham. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Twickenham property lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.
Will our solicitor be raising questions about flooding during the conveyancing in Twickenham.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers specialising in conveyancing in Twickenham. There are those who buy a house in Twickenham, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Twickenham. The conventional set of information given to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a standard question of the seller to determine if the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the owner, then a purchaser could bring a legal claim for losses stemming from an misleading reply. A buyer’s conveyancers should also commission an environmental report. This will disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be carried out.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Twickenham for my sale. Is it possible to review a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Anyone may see documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from investigations started on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor call for training reasons.
I am looking to buy a repression flat in Twickenham and the mortgagee in possession require completion within 28 days. Do lawyers complete in this timeframe? Would it be better to instruct a high street Twickenham firm or an online company that professes to complete quickly?
Visit your Twickenham shopping parade. Pop in to a couple of companies and request to talk to a conveyancing solicitor for an estimate. Explain your requirements and try and obtain a commitment on speed. Select the one that appears most trustworthy. Be sure to choose a conveyancer on the panel of conveyancing practitioners who can act for your mortgage company.