I am progressing with the sale of my home in Windermere and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Windermere ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent 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.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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 being contacted daily by practices 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. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
Are the Windermere conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the TSB conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by TSB?
Windermere conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from TSB directly.
I am downsizing from our property in Windermere and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Windermere. We have lived in Windermere for three years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Windermere. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Windermere and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I'm buying my first flat in Windermere with a mortgage from Yorkshire Building Society. The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it could adversely affect my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
How simple is it to use the search tool to locate a conveyancing lawyer in Windermere on the panel for my mortgage?
First pick a mortgage company such as Halifax, The Royal Bank of Scotland or Bank of Ireland then specify your preferred area for instance Windermere. Conveyancing practices in Windermere and nationally should be identified.