I am one month into the sale of my maisonette in Kidwelly and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Kidwelly ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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. 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 buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
My partner and I are refinancing our penthouse in Kidwelly with Aldermore. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Aldermore conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his entitlement to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Aldermore. This is solely used to protect Aldermore if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Aldermore had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
It is is a decade since I acquired my house in Kidwelly. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't track down my title deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be with the lender or they may be archived with the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Kidwelly relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
Can you help - my lawyer says that chancel insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Kidwelly?
The right level of chancel indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.
When it comes to lenders such as Coventry BS, do Kidwelly conveyancing practitioners face a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
It is unclear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Kidwelly building society branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Kidwelly conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. I have no idea who is right.
Your conveyancer has to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two requirements for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
My brother has suggested that I appoint his conveyancers in Kidwelly. Should I find my own conveyancer?
No doubt it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing practitioner is to get recommendations from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the conveyancer you're contemplating using.