I am nearing exchange of contracts for my home in West Hill and the estate agent has just text me to advise that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. The reason given is that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in West Hill ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. 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. Plenty of firms 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Nationwide Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in West Hill?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
A colleague advised me that in purchasing a property in West Hill there could be a number of restrictions preventing external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in West Hill which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in West Hill should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from Santander as we intend to carry out improvements to our house in West Hill. Are we obliged to select a local West Hill solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Santander do not ordinarily require firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Santander conveyancing panel.
Our offer on a detached house in West Hill has been accepted, the vendors do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The sellers have placed an offer on a property, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in West Hill. What should be my next step? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with HSBC?
It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, West Hill conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is check that your lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market the majority of buyers will apply for the mortgage with HSBC and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their conveyancer to move forward with searches.
I have been told that property searches are a common cause of hinderance in West Hill house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in West Hill.
I'm buying a new build house in West Hill benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent told me not disclose to my lawyer about the extras as it will adversely affect my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in West Hill I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in West Hill for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan that many years may be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.