I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in Wandsworth and the estate agent has just text me to warn that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Wandsworth ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened 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 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. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
My Conveyancer in Wandsworth has never been on on the The Royal Bank of Scotland Approved Panel. Can I still use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the The Royal Bank of Scotland panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your preferred Wandsworth lawyers but The Royal Bank of Scotland will need to instruct a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the overall legal charges and cause delays.
- Get an alternative practitioner to act in the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are The Royal Bank of Scotland approved.
- Persuade your The Royal Bank of Scotland solicitor to try to join the The Royal Bank of Scotland panel
My wife and I have a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Wandsworth. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Nationwide Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. Is it worth asking Nationwide Building Society to clarify?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Wandsworth and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Wandsworth prior to appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to grant a loan on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Wandsworth. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Wandsworth especially if they are familiar with such properties in Wandsworth.
I am a fortnight into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the selling agent to handle our conveyancing in Wandsworth. I am not happy. Could you help me find new solicitors?
A solicitor would have to be really bad in order to consider diss instructing them. Has your loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you need to advise them of the replacement lawyer and get the mortgage documents are re-sent. Your conveyancer should be on the banks panel to avoid added charges and frustration. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. Our find a solicitor tool should help you find a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Wandsworth