Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in St Mellons is not on my lender's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of his work?
That is most likely an incorrect assumption to make. There are plenty of plausible explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should contact the St Mellons conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
Our son-in-law is buying a newly built flat in St Mellons with a mortgage from Santander. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Santander conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Santander conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Why do I have to pay up front for my conveyancing in St Mellons?
If you are buying a property in St Mellons your solicitor will request that you place them with monies to cover the search fees. Normally this is called for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. If any deposit is payable against the purchase price then this should be asked for shortly ahead of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer a couple of days ahead of the day of completion.
I require fast conveyancing in St Mellons as I have pressure to complete in less than one month. Fortunately I do not require a mortgage. Can I escape the need for conveyancing searches to save money and time?
If.Given you are are a mortgage free purchaser you have the choice not to do searches although no lawyer would advise that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in St Mellons the following are examples of issues that can crop up and adversely affect future saleability: Enforcement Actions, Outstanding Fees, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...
My wife and I are purchasing a ground floor flat in St Mellons. At the time of instructing our solicitor, they told us that they were on all mainstream mortgage company panels. The mortgage broker contacted us just now to say that they are not on the Principality approved list. If it turns out to be true, what should we do? Do we just find a new solicitor that is on their approved list or do we pay for separate representation, with Principality appointing their own preferred property lawyer.
Where you are purchasing a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchaser’s lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a conveyancer has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the property lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the solicitor has to meet. Some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your conveyancing practitioner should contact Principality to find out 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 don't have to instruct a firm on Principality's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own St Mellons solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the equation.