Me and my fiance are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Caerleon with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Caerleon conveyancer, but the lender says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Caerleon conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to demand that the lender use our Caerleon conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Caerleon conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
The Caerleon conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Caerleon have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel and my preferred Caerleon lawyer was not. I paid them funds in advance. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Yorkshire BS 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.
I am looking for a flat up to £305k and found one near me in Caerleon I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Caerleon for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I am one month into a freehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the local agent to handle our conveyancing in Caerleon. I am not happy. Could you help me find new solicitors?
They would need to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? If so you need to advise them of the new contact details and get the offer are re-issued. Your solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid added charges and complications. So that should be your first question of the new lawyers. The find a solicitor tool will assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your home move in Caerleon
Much to my surprise my property lawyer in Caerleon has informed me that he requires proof of ID documents stating that this forms part of his obligations as a conveyancer on the bank Conveyancing panel. This is news to me - can I refuse?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require Caerleon conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that the lender also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the lender's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements