My husband and I are planning to purchase a house in Cinderford and have instructed a Cinderford conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Skipton Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Cinderford solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 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 Cinderford solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My lawyer in Cinderford is not listed on the Clydesdale Approved Panel. Can I still continue with my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Clydesdale panel?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your preferred Cinderford lawyers but Clydesdale will need to instruct a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional total conveyancing fees as well as cause frustration.
- Find a new lawyer to act in the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the Clydesdale panel
What is your number one tip for finding a conveyancing solicitor in Cinderford
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Cinderford conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.
I currently have a mortgage with HSBC for my property in Cinderford. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform HSBC?
Your original mortgage agreement with HSBC will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of HSBC’s mortgage conditions. It may be that HSBC will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact HSBC directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a HSBC conveyancing panel solicitor.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Cinderford. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I have been told that property searches are a common cause of obstruction in Cinderford conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Cinderford.
Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Edwardian house in Cinderford. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Cinderford and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.