I am obtaining a mortgage offer from Santander. My intention is to enlist the help of a Licensed Conveyancer in Woodford Green. Does the Santander Solicitor panel include Licensed Conveyancers?
The Santander approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, represented by the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
We were going to get a AIP from Barclays this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Barclays recommend any Woodford Green solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Woodford Green solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Barclays conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Barclays through the process.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Bank of Ireland. I assume I don't need a Woodford Green property lawyer on the Bank of Ireland panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Bank of Ireland mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Bank of Ireland mortgage from the register. Bank of Ireland, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Bank of Ireland has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Bank of Ireland has instructed the Land Registry to do so
RBS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a house in Woodford Green has been agreed to, now what?
Your property agent will need to be informed of your conveyancing practitioner's details (ensure that the conveyancing practitioners are on the lender’s panel). Telephone RBS or the broker and complete any outstanding paperwork. RBS will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days to get a mortgage offer. RBS will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Woodford Green.
My colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Woodford Green 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 Woodford Green conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Woodford Green around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Woodford Green.
My brother has suggested that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in Woodford Green. Should I choose my own property lawyer?
There are no two ways about it the best way to find a conveyancing lawyer is to have feedback from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the conveyancer that you are are thinking of instructing.
My son is about to join the property ladder, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. One the seller agreed the offer on the apartment we telephoned the building society to issue the formal offer. I was very surprised to discover that mortgage lenders do not accept all conveyancing practitioner, they must be on their panel, is this correct?
Mortgage Companies tend to restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Woodford Green conveyancing practitioner on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.