I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Wootton Bridge and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Wootton Bridge ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, 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.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices 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.
My wife and I are acquiring a newly built flat in Wootton Bridge and my solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to sign contracts and I would rather not delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
The Wootton Bridge conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my purchase in Wootton Bridge have without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a firm on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and my preferred Wootton Bridge lawyer was not. I paid them money on account. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
Should our solicitor be raising questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Wootton Bridge.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors carrying out conveyancing in Wootton Bridge. There are those who acquire a house in Wootton Bridge, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Wootton Bridge. The standard information sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual question of the seller to discover if the property has historically flooded. In the event that the property has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer could issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading answer. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also carry out an enviro report. This will reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be made.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, chain free conveyancing. Wootton Bridge is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Wootton Bridge are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Wootton Bridge you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wootton Bridge may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
Do online conveyancing companies do everything a high street Wootton Bridge solicitor does or must I use a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in Wootton Bridge?
If you use an online conveyancer they should cover all the work your Wootton Bridge conveyancer will cover.