We are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in West Ham with a mortgage. We like our West Ham conveyancer, however the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or continue with our West Ham solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to demand that the mortgage company use our West Ham lawyer ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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 West Ham conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Do I choose a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in West Ham?
There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in West Ham and Solicitor partnerships in West Ham offering conveyancing It is important to make clear that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. The two can conduct associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.
My solicitor has informed me that lack of planning permission insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for West Ham conveyancing?
The appropriate level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Coventry Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
I have finally had an offer on an apartment in West Ham agreed to, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on on an apartment, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in West Ham. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Lloyds?
It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, West Ham conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is check that your lawyer is on the Lloyds approved list. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the specifics of your transaction, desire for this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market some home buyers will apply for a home loan with Lloyds and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their conveyancer to move forward with searches.
How does conveyancing in West Ham differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in West Ham come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because house builders in West Ham usually acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in West Ham or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in West Ham before appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a loan on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you call us we can investigate further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in West Ham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in West Ham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
What tools are available to search for a West Ham law firm on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am prepared to travel upto 20miles to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please select a lender and your location and you will see a number of West Ham conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some West Ham conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to see if they are on the Birmingham Midshires panel
My lawyer in West Ham has informed me that he requires identification documents stating that this forms part of his legal duty as a conveyancer on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. Can you confirm whether this is the case?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require West Ham 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 lender 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 mortgage company's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements