We are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Guildford with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Guildford lawyer, but the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Guildford property lawyer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to demand that the bank use our Guildford solicitor ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you 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 Guildford conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
What happens if my solicitor is suspended from the Aldermore Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Guildford?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
My colleague recommended that where I am buying in Guildford I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Guildford conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Guildford around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Guildford Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Guildford.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Guildford before instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some banks will refuse to give a mortgage on this type of premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Guildford. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Given that I will soon spend £400,000 on 3 bedroom house in Guildford I would like to talk to a solicitor regarding theconveyancing ahead of appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?
We could not agree more - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the solicitor who will be doing your conveyancing in Guildford.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique individual, not a matter number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Guildford should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.