My partner and I are looking to purchase a property in Crawcrook and have instructed a Crawcrook conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Crawcrook solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Crawcrook solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My solicitor has identified a a problem with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Crawcrook. The other side have put forward defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancing practitioner says that he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. 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.
I am buying a property and the conveyancer has referenced Chancel Repair to which the property could be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. She has suggested insurance. Is this strictly required for conveyancing in Crawcrook
Unless a prior acquisition of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners handling conveyancing in Crawcrook to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Crawcrook?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Crawcrook. 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…’
Should I be suspicious that third parties that I am dealing with are recommending a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Crawcrook conveyancing firm?
As is the case with many service providers, often recommendations from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are lots of parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may put forward solicitors to instruct. On occasion the lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are free to select your preferred lawyer. However, bear in mind that the majority of lenders specify a panel list of solicitors you have to use for the lender aspect of your house move.