I have just been advised by my mortgage adviser that my Melbourne property lawyer is not on the lender Solicitor panel. How can I be sure that this is correct?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Melbourne lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Melbourne conveyancing practice that is on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.
I am under pressure from the mortgagee in possession of a property in Melbourne to complete within four weeks. What can I do to speed up matters?
In a situation where you are under pressure for your conveyancing it is advisable to make sure that your solicitor is familiar with the area as they will benefit local contacts and knowledge. It is possible that they would have handled otherhouses in the same street. Therefore consider using a Melbourne conveyancing solicitor. Second, ensure that the lawyer is on the member panel. It is estimated that 18% of Melbourne conveyancing deals are delayed or derailed after discovering a purchaser’s lawyer was not on their mortgage lender’s panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the legal process being frustrated by as much as 21 days. It is understood that this issue impacts approximately one hundred thousand home moves annually. Most Melbourne conveyancing practices can not represent certain lenders so do check as early as possible.
My Conveyancer in Melbourne has never been on on the Skipton Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my family solicitor even though they are not on the Skipton Building Society panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Melbourne lawyers but Skipton Building Society will need to instruct a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional total legal fees and result in delays.
- Find an alternative practitioner to to deal with the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Skipton Building Society approved.
- Persuade your Skipton Building Society based solicitor to attempt to join the Skipton Building Society panel
What does commercial conveyancing in Melbourne cover?
Commercial conveyancing in Melbourne covers a wide range of services, given by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.
My step-son is just in the process of moving house, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the apartment we contacted the bank to progress the mortgage application. We were shocked to learn that mortgage lenders do not accept all conveyancer, they must be on their panel, is this right?
Lenders normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Melbourne property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Presumably not.