I am progressing with the sale of my house in Romiley and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Romiley ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for over 25 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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.
It is is a decade since I purchased my house in Romiley. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by your lender or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Romiley relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
We had selected conveyancers based in Romiley on the Nationwide solicitor panel. They are now charging me a further charge for handling the Nationwide mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Nationwide?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner may charge a fee for this. The fee is not set by Nationwide but by your Romiley conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Nationwide panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
My husband and I have arranged a further advance on our home loan from Clydesdale as we want to carry out renovations to our property in Romiley. Are we obliged to appoint a local Romiley solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
Clydesdale do not ordinarily instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
Planning on purchasing a house in Romiley. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Romiley conveyancer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
Should my lawyer be raising enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Romiley.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Romiley. There are those who purchase a property in Romiley, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or by their lawyers which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Romiley. The standard completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a standard inquiry of the vendor to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading response. A buyer’s lawyers will also commission an environmental search. This should indicate whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be conducted.
My company is hoping to take over a lease of a shop on a shopping parade. Can you recommend lawyers offering competitive costs for commercial conveyancing in Romiley for less than £2000?
We can recommend firms who have an in-depth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Romiley, including the disposal and purchase of businesses as well as simply premises. Whether you are hoping to purchase or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we will put you in touch with the right solicitor. Regarding the charges this will depend on the structure and terms of the proposed transaction. Let us have your contact information or email us so that we may provide you with a detailed commercial conveyancing quote.