My fiance and I are planning to buy a home in Branston and have appointed a Branston conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Skipton Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Branston lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 Accreditation 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 solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Branston solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
The Branston conveyancing firm handling our Branston conveyancing has discovered a discrepancy between the assumptions in the home valuation survey and what is revealed within the title deeds. My lawyer says that he must ensure that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my solicitor’s course or action legitimate?
Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
Various web forums that I have come across warn that are the primary cause of delay in Branston conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Branston.
What is different about your site and other online quote calculators for conveyancing in Branston?
At this site obtain a conveyancing costs illustration via a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that understands the nuances for your conveyancing in Branston. As opposed to estate agents and many comparison sites we are not in the business of charging firms a fee if you appoint them for your conveyancing in Branston
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Branston for my house move. Is there any facility to check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public may search for documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA could recorded telephone calls for training reasons.