My wife and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom flat in Wisbech with a mortgage. We have a Wisbech lawyer, however the lender advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or keep our Wisbech solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
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 bank’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. A further alternative is for your Wisbech conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Can conveyancing in Wisbech to be concluded in under two weeks?
In a situation where the seller is applying pressure for your conveyancing we would recommend that your solicitor is familiar with the area as they will benefit local relationships and know-how. It is possible that they may have transacted previoushouses in the same road. You would be best advised to use a Wisbech conveyancing solicitor. In addition, check that the conveyancing firm is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is claimed that nearly one in five of Wisbech conveyancing deals are delayed or jeopardised after discovering a buyer’s solicitor was not on their banks panel. This can often result in the conveyancing being held up by as much as three weeks. It is claimed that this issue affects in the region of one hundred thousand home moves every year. Most Wisbech conveyancing practices can not act for certain lenders so do check as early as possible.
It is is a decade since I bought my home in Wisbech. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down the title deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be with the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Wisbech relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Leeds Building Society Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Wisbech?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. 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.
I was recommended by a few estate agents in Wisbech to choose a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers over and above another?
We don’t give any referral fee for directing people to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
What can I do to discover who is the owner of a house in Wisbech?
Provided the property is recorded at HM Land Registry, and you have the information of the location of the property, you should be able to obtain results from the HMLR of the registered owner for a for less than a fiver.