My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a home in Ashby de la Zouch and are in fact using a Ashby de la Zouch conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Ashby de la Zouch lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Ashby de la Zouch solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are acquiring a brand new duplex in Ashby de la Zouch and my conveyancer is advising me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and my preference is not to prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is suspended from the Aldermore Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Ashby de la Zouch?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
How does conveyancing in Ashby de la Zouch differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Ashby de la Zouch contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Ashby de la Zouch usually purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Ashby de la Zouch or who has acted in the same development.
I am selling my home. My previous solicitors have shut. I would be grateful for any recommendation of a conveyancing firm. Im based in Ashby de la Zouch if that affects matters.
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