I am nearing exchange of contracts for my flat in Bookham and the EA has just called to warn that the purchasers are swapping property lawyer. The reason given is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Bookham ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Bookham for our house move. Our financial adviser informed us that our bank TSB won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
A lender will insist on a panel solicitor act for it. You would be expected to meet the charges for this. Try using our tool to select a solicitor to carry conveyancing in Bookham on the TSB approved list of solicitors.
My wife and I are purchasing a property in Bookham. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we will need to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
We previously appointed conveyancers with offices in Bookham on the UBS solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional amount for dealing with the UBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by UBS?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your property lawyer is entitled to levy a fee for this. This charge is not set by UBS but by your Bookham lawyer. Numerous firms on the UBS panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I have paid off my mortgage with Yorkshire BS. I assume I don't need a Bookham solicitor on the Yorkshire BS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Yorkshire BS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Yorkshire BS mortgage from the register. Yorkshire BS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Yorkshire BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Yorkshire BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
What can a local search reveal about the house my wife and I purchasing in Bookham?
Bookham conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Searchflow The local search plays a central role in most Bookham conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject sections.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house can not be found. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Bookham 10 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?
Gone are the days when you need to have the physical official documentation to evidence that you are the owner of your registered land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.