I am six weeks into the sale of my home in Sneyd Park and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Sneyd Park ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
The Sneyd Park conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Sneyd Park have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a lawyer on the HSBC conveyancing panel and my previous Sneyd Park lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the HSBC 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 solicitors may be able to help.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Virgin Money. Sneyd Park conveyancing practitioners have been instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Virgin Money?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Virgin Money done the valuation? Have you advised Virgin Money as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Sneyd Park. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Skipton have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Skipton your lawyer must follow the conveyancing requirements set out in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Skipton. The CML Handbook contains minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Skipton where a lease does not satisfy these specifications. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Sneyd Park.
It is unclear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Sneyd Park bank branch on various occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Sneyd Park conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they would not lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
The conveyancer has to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 provisions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
A friend advised me that if I am purchasing in Sneyd Park I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Sneyd Park conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Sneyd Park around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Sneyd Park Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Sneyd Park Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Sneyd Park.
I am selling my home. My past conveyancers has retired. I am in need of a recommendation of a conveyancing firm. I happen to live in Sneyd Park if that makes a difference.
Do use our search tool to help you choose a solicitor for your conveyancing in Sneyd Park. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with regulated solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move runs with a minimum of fuss.