Me and my partner are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Corby with a mortgage. We like our Corby conveyancer, however the mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our Corby conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders 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. A further alternative is for your Corby conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Corby? What am I being asked for?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identification documents of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign should stipulate this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be checked. Where you are unwilling to supply ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to act for you.
I am being advised by my lawyer that lack of right of way insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Corby?
The right level of lack of right of way indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Lloyds TSB Bank and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
We previously chose conveyancers locally in Corby on the Coventry BS solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a further fee for dealing with the Coventry BS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Coventry BS?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by Coventry BS but by your Corby conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Coventry BS panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Corby. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £175. Not long after, the conveyancer called me to say that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Hoping to buy a property located in Corby and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Corby. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Corby area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Corby. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
Am I better off to use a Corby conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am buying? An old friend can perform the legal formalities but they are based a couple of hundredmiles away.
The benefit of a high street Corby conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to execute paperwork, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Corby know how is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and the majority were happy that must trump using an unfamiliar Corby conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Corby based.