My wife and I are hoping to acquire a property in Linton and are in fact using a Linton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Skipton Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Linton conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 solicitor should contact your bank 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Linton lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am buying a property in Linton. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Skipton be concerned?
As your lender is Skipton your lawyer must follow the formal instructions outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Skipton. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Skipton where a lease fails to comply with these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Linton.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Linton off the council. I have a mortgage offer with HSBC. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Linton. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £225. Shortly after, the lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Aldermore panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Various online forums that I have come across warn that are the main cause of stalling in Linton house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Linton.
I decided to have a survey done on a house in Linton before retaining lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate 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 Linton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Linton to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing lawyer in Linton for my remortgage. Can I review a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
You can review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from inquisitions commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor call for training reasons.