My fiance and I are looking to buy a property in Cawthorne and have instructed a Cawthorne conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Cawthorne conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional 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 solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Cawthorne lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Our Cawthorne lawyer has identified a discrepancy when comparing the assumptions in the valuation survey and what is revealed within the title deeds. My lawyer says that he is obliged to ensure that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my lawyer’s stance correct?
Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from HSBC as we intend to conduct alterations to our property in Cawthorne. Are we obliged to select a local Cawthorne solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
HSBC would not normally require a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the HSBC list.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Cawthorne. I have a mortgage offer with Nationwide. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use 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 Nationwide, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.
Intending to buy a house in Cawthorne. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the UBS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Cawthorne conveyancing practitioner is on the UBS conveyancing panel.
I am buying a new build house in Cawthorne with a mortgage from The Royal Bank of Scotland. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent told me not disclose to my solicitor about this deal as it will put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Is it simple use your search app to find a conveyancing lawyer in Cawthorne on the authorised to act for my bank?
Step one is to choose a mortgage company such as Santander, Skipton Building Society or Britannia then type in your preferred area for instance Cawthorne. Conveyancing practices in Cawthorne and across England and Wales will then be shown.