My husband and I are planning to purchase a flat in Kew and are in fact using a Kew conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Coventry Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Kew solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Kew lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
I am considering applying for a Co-operative mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Kew with 70% LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Co-operative ?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel, but Co-operative would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.
This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as a first time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Kew. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Kew?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be called to pick up the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
Does a directory service exist listing Barclays panel solicitors in Kew on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of mortgage companies make their panel listings visible on the web. If you are looking for a Kew property lawyer on the Barclays please use our tool.
I have paid off my mortgage with HSBC. I assume I don't need a Kew conveyancer on the HSBC panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your HSBC 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 HSBC mortgage from the register. HSBC, 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 HSBC has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- HSBC has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The deeds to my home can not be found. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Kew 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
You no longer need to hold title deeds to evidence that you own the land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
Given that I am about to spend over three hundred thousand on a terraced house in Kew I wish to have a conversation with the conveyancer regarding thetransaction before appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
Absolutely - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the conveyancer due to be doing your property ownership legalities in Kew.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a case number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for your conveyancing in Kew should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.