Me and my fiance are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Culcheth with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Culcheth solicitor, but the mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or retain our Culcheth conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms 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 Culcheth conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Are all Culcheth Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their panels.
I have a mortgage with Bank of Ireland for my property in Culcheth. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. In the event that I decide 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 Bank of Ireland?
Your original mortgage agreement with Bank of Ireland will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Bank of Ireland’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel lawyer.
Intending to buy a house in Culcheth. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Clydesdale 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 Culcheth lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
I got the keys to my flat on 7 May and the transaction details is not yet on the land registry website. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in Culcheth expressed confidence that it will be dealt with in less than a month. Are titles in Culcheth particularly slow to register?
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Culcheth registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ according to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry communicate with any 3rd parties. At present approximately 80% of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive hold-ups. Registration takes place after the buyer has moved in to the premises thus an expedited registration is not usually top priority but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer should contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
As co-executor for the will of my grandmother I am selling a residence in Monmouth but I am based in Culcheth. My solicitor (approximately 250 miles from mehas requested that I sign a stat dec before the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Culcheth to witness and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Culcheth based
Builders have suggested I use a conveyancer and I've sought an estimate from them. They are nearly two hundred pounds cheaper than my family Culcheth conveyancing practitioner. What's the catch?
Builders often have panels of conveyancing practitioners who expedite matters and who know the developer’s paperwork and lawyer. Plenty of developers offer an incentive to choose their approved lawyer for this reason, any increased charges can be avoided and a builder won't suggest a conveyancing warehouse and run the risk of having the transaction delayed when they want exchange in 28 days. A counter-argument for not agreeing to use the recommended property lawyer is that they may prove unwilling to 'push' your interests for fear of alienating the housebuilder. If you worry that this may be the situation you should stick with your local Culcheth conveyancer.