I am progressing with the sale of my house in Freshwater and the EA has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are swapping law firm. The excuse is that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Freshwater ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lenders justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices 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. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Do lawyers request money on account for my conveyancing in Freshwater?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Freshwater your lawyer will request that you put them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any deposit is payable against the purchase price then this will be needed shortly in advance of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.
My bank has suggested a law firm on their panel based in Freshwater but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Freshwater or nearer to where I live. Can you assist?
Far from all Freshwater conveyancing firms are on all banks conveyancing panel. Do make the most of our search tool to identify a Freshwater conveyancing conveyancer on the on the mortgage company panel.
Should my lawyer be raising questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Freshwater.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Freshwater. There are those who acquire a property in Freshwater, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Freshwater. The standard information given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard question of the vendor to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a compensation claim stemming from an inaccurate reply. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also conduct an environmental report. This will reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be conducted.
Partway through the sale of a leasehold flat in Freshwater. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we have been asked to pay an extortionate amount from the managing agents. So far we have forked out £225 for a leasehold management pack and then another £200 plus VAT for answers to queries raised by the purchaser's solicitor.
You will not have control over the extent of the bill for this information however the average costs for the information for Freshwater leasehold property is £355. When it comes to Freshwater conveyancing transactions it is conventional for the seller to cover the charges. The landlord or their agents are not duty bound to address these questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices out of proportion to the work involved. Regretfully there is no law that requires capped charges for administrative tasks. There is no statutory time frame by which they are required to issue the information.