My husband and I are hoping to buy a home in Bermondsey and are in fact using a Bermondsey conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Bermondsey conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Bermondsey solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Bermondsey with a loan from .We use our Bermondsey conveyancing practitioner but advised that he's not listed on their "panel". It seems we have no choice but to instruct a panel firm or retain our preferred solicitor and pay for a panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that use our lawyer?
No, not really. The loan offered to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that lawyers must be on the conveyancing panel. in the past, most mortgage companies 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Bermondsey I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Bermondsey suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
We're novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the estate agent told us that the vendor will only proceed if we appoint the agent's chosen conveyancers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer used to conveyancing in Bermondsey
We suspect that the owner is not behind this demand. Should the seller want ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious buyer is not the way to achieve this. Try to communicate with the vendors directly and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you intend to appoint your own,trusted Bermondsey conveyancing firm - as opposed tothose that will give their negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing targets pre-set by senior management.
Why do I have to send my with a list of items of ID before they can proceed with my conveyancing in Bermondsey?
Bermondsey s are required by the Law Society, SRA, HM Land Registry and current Money Laundering legislation to certify that the have verified the identity of their clients. It will also be a condition of your mortgage offer. In addition they have to complete various forms, particularly those relating to Land Tax and need to have information such as your full names, national insurance number and DOB.