My wife and I are looking to acquire a home in Barnard Castle and have appointed a Barnard Castle conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Nottingham Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Barnard Castle lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Barnard Castle lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am about to complete on the purchase of a property in Barnard Castle but as a consequence of damage from a small fire at the property I have managed to agree compensation from the current proprietors of £2k in the form of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of a side agreement but RBS are not allowing this. Why were they informed?
Your conveyancing practitioner that is on a RBS approved list is obliged to advise RBS of any changes to the sale price. If you were to refuse your solicitor to notify the price change to RBS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, RBS and you would have to appoint a new solicitor for your conveyancing in Barnard Castle.
Is it the case that all Barnard Castle solicitor firms on the Santander conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Santander conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be governed by the CLC.
How can we know in advance if a Barnard Castle conveyancing solicitor on the Clydesdale panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Barnard Castle seeking recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always advise that you speak with the solicitor handling your conveyancing.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Barnard Castle. I have a mortgage offer with Santander. 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 have 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 Santander, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel.
I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle. I've stumble upon a site which looks to be the ideal answer If it is possible to get all the legals completed via web that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Myself and my partner have recently had an offer agreed on a apartment and had meeting on Wednesday with HSBC for the mortgage. They warned us that when it comes to selecting a conveyancer that if they are not on their approved list of solicitors then we will incur an extra charge of £200. This is because they would then have to select a conveyancer to act for them as well as the one we select for ourselves and we assume responsibility for their fees. I have asked HSBC to furnish me with a list so I can seek estimates only from their approved conveyancers but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. Is there a list online?
You can enquire of HSBC what their criteria for panel membership is for a solicitor.Then ask the property lawyer of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on loans for HSBC before. If the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with HSBC. Alternatively please make use of our search facility and we may be able to identify a conveyancing practitioner in Barnard Castle on the panel for HSBC.