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The solicitor my husband and I had intended to instruct on a purchase said he would charge more if my lender is due to their unusual legal requirements. Will I regret using Zephyr Mortgages? Is Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing so much more difficult?
Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Zephyr Mortgages will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
We are due to exchange on the purchase a house but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have agreed compensation from the seller of £3k approx by way of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process but my mortgage company Zephyr Mortgages will not agree to this. Why was Zephyr Mortgages even consulted?
Your lawyer being on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform Zephyr Mortgages of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyers to disclose the reduction to Zephyr Mortgages then they would have to discontinue acting for you and Zephyr Mortgages.
Do lenders provide you with an approved list of solicitors? How do you know who is on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel?
The law firm practices themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Zephyr Mortgages directly.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Do the majority of lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel requirements are different to Zephyr Mortgages’s conveyancing panel requirements.
Why might a lender such as Zephyr Mortgages withdraw a mortgage offer?
Banks and Building Societies such as Zephyr Mortgages can withdraw their mortgage offer although this rarely happens. If Zephyr Mortgages withdraw their offer they may or may not inform you or the lawyer as to the reasons why. There are many potential reasons but here are a few examples:
- Many mortgage offers have an expiry date. Your lawyer should check this. Zephyr Mortgages may amend or withdraw an offer before the end of its validation period if an offer extension is requested and following a re-evaluation of the property the value of the security is below a level which is acceptable to them.
- If the financial circumstances of the borrower have changed to the detriment and the Zephyr Mortgages has been notified
- A cashback to the buyer, or | part of the price includes a non-cash incentive to the buyer (eg paid stamp duty land tax),or | any indirect incentive (cash or non cash) or rental guarantee, of which the lender was previously unaware
- Where the purchase price and borrowers direct contribution differ to details on the mortgage application form completed by the borrower
- Where the Lender’s right to possession is fettered in some way
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What should be my next step? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Zephyr Mortgages?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Zephyr Mortgages and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
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