My partner and I are hoping to buy a flat in Mere and are in fact using a Mere conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Leeds Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Mere lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Mere lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Can the conveyancing lawyers via your comparison service handle conveyancing in Mere by way of an attended exchange?
There are a few conveyancing experts who can conduct attended exchanges. You should call us to receive a conveyancing quote and details as to availability.
We are buying a house in Mere. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we have to put money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I have been advised by my solicitor that restrictive coveneant insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Mere?
The right level of restrictive coveneant indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Yorkshire Building Society and Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
When it comes to lenders such as Co-operative, do Mere solicitors incur a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
three months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Mere completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
My step-father has urged me to instruct his conveyancing solicitors in Mere. Should I find my own solicitor?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Mere conveyancing lawyer the ideal way to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to seek referrals from friends or relatives who have actually experience in using the conveyancer you're contemplating using.