I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in Emsworth and the EA has just telephoned to warn that the purchasers are changing their property lawyer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Emsworth ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
We see that you have a search directory identifying solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I appoint them for our conveyancing in Emsworth?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Emsworth.
What can a local search reveal regarding the house I am purchasing in Emsworth?
Emsworth conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for example PSG The local search is essential in every Emsworth conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic sections.
I used Stirling Law several years past for my conveyancing in Emsworth. Now, I need the files but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Emsworth of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am buying a new build house in Emsworth with a mortgage from HSBC Bank. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The house builders rep advised me not inform my solicitor about this side-deal as it would affect my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.