Me and my partner are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Ealing with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Ealing lawyer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to instruct one of the bank panel solicitors or continue with our Ealing lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
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 Ealing conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My apartment in Ealing is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor need to be required to be on the Santander conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Santander conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently currently.
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Ealing. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Leeds Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Leeds Building Society to clarify?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 Ealing and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Ealing in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to issue a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Ealing. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I am downsizing from my home. My past conveyancers has retired. I am in need of a recommendation of a conveyancing firm. I happen to live in Ealing if that makes a difference.
Please use our search tool to help you find a solicitor for your conveyancing in Ealing. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with lender approved solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move runs smoothly.