Me and my partner are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Darnall with a mortgage. We have a Darnall conveyancer, but the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to use one of the bank panel firms or keep our Darnall conveyancer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to require that the mortgage company use our Darnall property lawyer ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you 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. Another option that might be available is for your Darnall conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Can the conveyancing practitioners that you recommend carry out right to buy conveyancing in Darnall?
We have identified numerous conveyancing specialists carrying out right to buy conveyancing work You should e-mail the conveyancers listed to secure a conveyancing quote.
The Darnall conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Darnall have without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel and my family Darnall lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Principality conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.
We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Santander as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our house in Darnall. Do we need to choose a local Darnall solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Santander do not ordinarily require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Santander conveyancing panel.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Darnall. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most 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 effectively and efficiently. 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 am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in March 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Kent Reliance are being a right pain. The Darnall solicitor who is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Kent Reliance are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Kent Reliance have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Kent Reliance have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Kent Reliance may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
We are downsizing from our property in Darnall and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed a factory type conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Darnall. We have lived in Darnall for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to get confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You must check with 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 ailment)