My wife and I are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Barnes Cray with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Barnes Cray solicitor, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to select one of the bank panel firms or keep our Barnes Cray conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer 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 Barnes Cray conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My husband and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Barnes Cray with Barclays. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Barclays had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Are all Barnes Cray Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing list of approved firms?
A selection of banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Principality, do Barnes Cray property lawyers face a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I am expecting a DIP from Nationwide this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Nationwide recommend any Barnes Cray solicitors on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Barnes Cray solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Nationwide through the process.
What does a local search tell me about the property I am purchasing in Barnes Cray?
Barnes Cray conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Searches UK The local search plays an important part in many a Barnes Cray conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search should reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic areas.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years ago for my conveyancing in Barnes Cray. I now require my papers however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Barnes Cray of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.