We are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Wenvoe with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Wenvoe lawyer, however the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our Wenvoe conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Wenvoe conveyancer ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Wenvoe conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We see that you have a search directory identifying firms on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a commission if I appoint them for our own conveyancing in Wenvoe?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the HSBC conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Wenvoe.
My lawyer in Wenvoe has never been on on the Barclays Direct Conveyancing Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor even though they are not on the Barclays Direct approved list?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Wenvoe solicitors but Barclays Direct will need to instruct a lawyer on their panel. This will result in additional total conveyancing charges and result in frustration.
- Find an alternative lawyer to to deal with the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Persuade your lawyer to do everything within their powers to join the Barclays Direct conveyancing panel
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Wenvoe I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Wenvoe suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
Given that I will soon part with £400,000 on a property in Wenvoe I would like to talk to a conveyancer about myconveyancing ahead of instructing the firm. Can this be arranged?
This is something that we encourage - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the solicitor who will be carrying out your conveyancing in Wenvoe.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a file number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Wenvoe should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.
My wife and I have recently had an offer accepted on a property and had meeting on Monday with HSBC for the mortgage. They have informed us that when it comes to selecting a lawyer that unless they are on their approved list of conveyancers then we will have to pay out an extra fee of £200. This is is due to the fact that they would then have to instruct a solicitor to act on their behalf in addition to the one we appoint for ourselves and we are liable for their fees. I have requested HSBC to supply me with a list so I can obtain estimates only from their approved conveyancers but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. Is there a list online?
Ask HSBC what their criteria for panel membership is for a solicitor.Then ask the solicitor of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on loans for HSBC in the past. If the answer to those is yes, then just double check with HSBC. Alternatively please use our search facility and we should be able to locate a conveyancing practitioner in Wenvoe on the approved list for HSBC.