I am selling my home in West Croydon and the EA has just text me to say that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in West Croydon ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say 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. Some do not even realise 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.
We're in West Croydon, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Skipton , and our solicitor is on the Skipton conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no solicitor should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
What is your number one tip for finding a conveyancing solicitor in West Croydon
Do not opt for the lowest West Croydon conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.
We had selected conveyancers with offices in West Croydon on the Bank of Ireland solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further amount for handling the Bank of Ireland mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Bank of Ireland?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your property lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Bank of Ireland but by your West Croydon property lawyer. Some firms on the Bank of Ireland panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in West Croydon. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
I am buying a property and the conveyancer has mentioned Chancel Repair to which the property could be obligated to pay given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. He has recommended insurance. Is this really necessary for conveyancing in West Croydon
Unless a previous purchase of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you can assume that lawyers conducting conveyancing in West Croydon to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in West Croydon?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in West Croydon. 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…’
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in West Croydon I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in West Croydon in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.