My fiance and I are planning to acquire a home in Chipping Sodbury and are in fact using a Chipping Sodbury conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Santander have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Chipping Sodbury conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 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 bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Chipping Sodbury solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My mortgage company has suggested a law firm on their panel based in Chipping Sodbury but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Chipping Sodbury or nearer to where I live. Can you assist?
Far from all Chipping Sodbury conveyancing practitioners are on all banks conveyancing panel. Use our search tool to choose a Chipping Sodbury conveyancing firm on the on the mortgage company panel.
My partner and I are downsizing from our house in Chipping Sodbury and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Chipping Sodbury. Having lived in Chipping Sodbury for six years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Chipping Sodbury?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Chipping Sodbury. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I note that you have a search directory listing firms on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. Do Chipping Sodbury conveyancing companies pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Chipping Sodbury.