I am in the process of selling my house in Wellington and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Wellington ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened 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 claims that 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. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
Can the conveyancing solicitors via your comparison service perform conveyancing in Wellington by way of an attended exchange?
We do have a number of conveyancing specialists who can conduct attended exchanges. You should call us to obtain a fee calculation and details as to dates.
Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of Wellington conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the Santander conveyancing panel?
Wellington conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Santander directly.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Wellington is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Wellington are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Wellington you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wellington may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
How do I search for a Wellington law firm on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am happy to travel upto 25miles to meet the lawyer.
You can use the facility on this website. Please select a bank and your location and you will see a number of Wellington conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Wellington conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to verify whether they are on the Barnsley Building Society member panel
Much to my surprise my solicitor in Wellington has informed me that he requires personal identification documents saying that this forms part of his obligations as a conveyancer on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. Is this right?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require Wellington conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that the bank also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the lender's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements