I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette in Kent and the EA has just telephoned to warn that the purchasers are swapping law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Kent ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks justify this action to 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 disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
I require conveyancing for an apartment in a fairly new development (five years old) in Kent. The vast majority the flats have already been disposed of. Do I need carry out the neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Kent?
Where you are obtaining a mortgage, your mortgage company will need some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Kent conveyancing searches are for you to decide upon. No doubt your conveyancer, will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Kent.
I am the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Kent. The Kent property was put into my name in July. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship may be treated the same way as though I had purchased the property in July. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be caught by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the lender as this requirement is principally there to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of properties.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Skipton. I assume I don't need a Kent lawyer on the Skipton panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Skipton mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Skipton mortgage from the register. Skipton, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Skipton has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Skipton has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Intending to buy a apartment in Kent. 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 Barclays 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 Kent conveyancing practitioner is on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
Various web forums that I have frequented warn that are the number one reason for stalling in Kent conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Kent.
I am looking to buy a house and require a conveyancing solicitor in Kent who is on the bank approved panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a Kent solicitor?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for the lender who do conveyancing in Kent. We dont recommend any particular firm.