My fiance and I are looking to purchase a home in Bodfari and have instructed a Bodfari conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Nottingham Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Bodfari conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Bodfari lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my house in Bodfari. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been appointed on the sale but I can't track down the deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by your lender or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Bodfari involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
There is lots of here regarding conveyancing in Bodfari but can you isolate your top tip for selecting the right conveyancer in Bodfari
It would be unwise to be seduced by the cheapest Bodfari conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
Is it the case that all Bodfari CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their panels.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Bodfari property lawyer having made sure that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Bodfari surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
How do I locate a Bodfari law firm on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am prepared to travel upto 10miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the facility on this page. Please choose the mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Bodfari conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Bodfari conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can call them to check whether they are on the Leeds Building Society approved list
Me and my partner are about to complete buying a house in Bodfari but as a consequence of wreckage from the recent storms I have negotiated compensation from the seller of £3k by way of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however my mortgage company will not agree to this. Should they have been informed?
The conveyancing practitioner listed on the bank conveyancing panel is required to advise the lender of any amendments to the sale price. In the event that you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to notify the reduction to your lender then they would have to disinstructing themselves from acting for you and the lender.