We are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Mere with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Mere solicitor, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or keep our Mere conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Mere conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
How up to date is your search tool for Mere conveyancing solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel? Do Santander send you an updated list?
Mere conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Santander directly.
The Mere conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Mere have suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a lawyer on the Principality conveyancing panel and my family Mere lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Principality conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to assist.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Mere in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor advised that some banks will not grant a loan on this type of premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can look into this further via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Mere. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Mere especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Mere.
My husband and I are novice buyers - had an offer accepted, but the selling agent has warned us that the vendor will only issue a contract if we appoint their preferred conveyancers as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer used to conveyancing in Mere
It is unlikely the sellers are driving this. Should the vendor want ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a motivated buyer is counter productive. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are motivated buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to appoint your preferred Mere conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing figures pre-set by corporate headquarters.