I can't travel far from Manchester. I would like to know the reason why all Manchester conveyancers are not on all lender panels?
Lenders tend to restrict either the type or volume of conveyancing practices on their panel. Frequent examples of such restriction(s) being that a practice is required to have at least two partners. In addition to restricting the nature of firm, some banks decided to limit the size of their panel they allow to represent them. It is worth noting that lenders have no liability for the quality of advice provided by any Manchester property lawyer on their approved list. Increases in mortgage fraud was the primary trigger for the reduction of solicitor panels from 2008 even though there are conflicting views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data via HMLR exposes that thousands of conveyancing organisations only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those advocating conveyancing panel cuts question why law firms deserve the right to be listed on a lender panel when it is apparent that conveyancing is not their primary expertise?
It is is a decade since I purchased my house in Manchester. Conveyancing solicitors have now been retained on the sale but I am unable to find my title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Manchester relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
My property lawyer in Manchester has never been on on the TSB Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the TSB list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Manchester solicitors but TSB will need to use a lawyer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the overall conveyancing fees and cause delays.
- Choose an alternative lawyer to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are Convince your lawyer to do everything within their powers to join the TSB conveyancing panel
My wife and I are planning on selling our house in Manchester and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a factory type conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Manchester. Having lived in Manchester for three years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)
Is it best to use a Manchester conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal formalities however his firm is located 200kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a high street Manchester conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to execute documents, present your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Manchester know how is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were happy that must trump using an unfamiliar Manchester conveyancing solicitor just because they are local.