Me and my partner are intending to buy a 1 bedroom apartment in Wakefield with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Wakefield solicitor, but the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or continue with our Wakefield conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to insist that the mortgage company use our Wakefield lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer 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 Wakefield conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We are about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in Wakefield. We encountered a snag. The loan offer with Nationwide Building Society runs out on 4/7/2024 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 8/7/2024. Can one prolong the mortgage offer?
The best person to deal with your question is your solicitors who will calculate whether they should be discussing with the lender, vendor’s conveyancers, selling agents or indeed all three given the history of your conveyancing to date.
We're in Wakefield, First timers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Barclays , and our solicitor is on the Barclays conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Wakefield. I now require my file but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Wakefield of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Wakefield before retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks may not issue a loan on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can investigate further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Wakefield. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.