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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Better list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the Better HomeOwnership (Mortgages) Conveyancing Panel
Common questions asked concerning the Better HomeOwnership Solicitor Panel
I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that Better HomeOwnership will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only engage with specific law firms?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say 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, or have other concerns about them. 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 buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My nephew is purchasing a house that has just been built with a mortgage from Better HomeOwnership. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested.
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 Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I note that you have a search directory listing firms on the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I retain them for my own house purchase?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
My grandmother passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the property. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Better HomeOwnership , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this possible?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Better HomeOwnership will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Better HomeOwnership mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
How can we tell if a solicitor on the Better HomeOwnership panel is any good?
Getting recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advocate that you speak with the solicitor handling your conveyancing
I had an offer accepted on a house on the 7th January 2014, valuation was booked 3 days after, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Better HomeOwnership and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel. Are Better HomeOwnership entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Better HomeOwnership to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.
Better HomeOwnership have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Better HomeOwnership or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Better HomeOwnership will tell you what documents they want. Better HomeOwnership will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Better HomeOwnership will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.