I can't travel far from Petts Wood. Is there a reason why all Petts Wood conveyancing practitioners are not on all lender panels?

Mortgage companies highlight the fact that solicitor-led fraud is thought to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud every year.The dismissal of law firms off of lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the FSA in 2011. Its conclusions included recommendations for lenders to review their conveyancing panels, which kicked off a major policy change in the sector. This resulted in lenders culling less reputable firms from their official list of approved solicitors .

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Petts Wood? Why is this being asked of me?

Petts Wood conveyancing solicitors and indeed property practitioners throughout the UK have a duty under Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules to check the identity of any client in order to ensure that clients are who they say they are.

Conveyancing clients are required to supply two forms of certified identification; proof of identity (usually a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (usually a Utility Bill less than 3 months old).

Confirmation of source of funds is also required under the money laundering regulations as solicitors are obliged to investigate that the money you are using to acquire a property (whether it be the deposit for exchange or the full purchase price where you are buying mortgage free) has originated from an acceptable source (such as employment savings) and is not the proceeds of criminal behaviour.

I have a mortgage with RBS for my property in Petts Wood. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform RBS?

Your original mortgage agreement with RBS will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that RBS will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact RBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a RBS conveyancing panel solicitor.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Petts Wood. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £200. Shortly after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the UBS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the UBS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by HSBC. Is it usual for HSBC to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Petts Wood is approved on their conveyancing panel? HSBC have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for HSBC to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I have recentlybeen informed that Action Conveyancing have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Petts Wood for a purchase of a freehold house 9 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Petts Wood conveyancing specialists.

I was recommended by a few estate agents in Petts Wood to locate a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your services over alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to make any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.