I am 3 weeks into the sale of my flat in Shinfield and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Shinfield ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 25 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Shinfield?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Shinfield your solicitor will request that you place them with monies to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is as part of the purchase price then this will be asked for shortly prior to exchange of contracts. The final balance that is needed should be transferred a couple of days prior to the completion date.
My lawyer in Shinfield has never been on on the Skipton Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Skipton Building Society panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Shinfield lawyers but Skipton Building Society will need to retain a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the overall legal fees and cause delays.
- Find an alternative solicitor to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are Convince your lawyer to use their best endeavours to join the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Shinfield and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Shinfield conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Shinfield. Having lived in Shinfield for many years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to 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 life insurance to cover that same ailment)
My wife and I have agreed a price on a Shinfield ground floor flat we inherited 8 years ago in 2011. I have over twenty years conveyancing knowledge and, now retired, see no reason not to carry out the conveyancing. The purchaser's conveyancing practitioner has informed me that their mortgage company will not allow us to do our own conveyancing requiring the funds to be transferred to a solicitor's bank account.
Lending instructions to conveyancing practitioners from all mainstream lenders state that If the seller does not have legal representation the buyer’s lawyers should check whether the mortgage company needs to be informed so that a decision can be made if they are willing to proceed.