My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a property in Bartley Green and have instructed a Bartley Green conveyancing firm. 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. Santander have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Bartley Green conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual 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 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Bartley Green solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am acquiring a new build flat in Bartley Green and my conveyancer is telling me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and my preference is not to prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I am buying a semi-detached house in Bartley Green. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Bartley Green you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Bartley Green.
How does conveyancing in Bartley Green differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Bartley Green contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because house builders in Bartley Green usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Bartley Green or who has acted in the same development.
I need to change lawyers as my Bartley Green lawyer is not on the bank's approved list of conveyancing solicitors. Is it practical to instruct different lawyers?
If you haven't yet instructed a solicitor to do anything for you and have just received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Bartley Green that you're considering.