My wife and I are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Bishops Cleeve with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Bishops Cleeve lawyer, however the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or retain our Bishops Cleeve solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to demand that the lender use our Bishops Cleeve conveyancer ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Bishops Cleeve conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My husband and I are acquiring a brand new flat in Bishops Cleeve and my solicitor is informing me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the seller. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I would rather not delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
How does conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Bishops Cleeve come to us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because new home sellers in Bishops Cleeve usually acquire the land, 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 property lawyers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve or who has acted in the same development.
I decided to have a survey done on a property in Bishops Cleeve in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to grant a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Bishops Cleeve. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Bishops Cleeve especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Bishops Cleeve.
Should I choose a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can execute the legal formalities however her office is 300kilometers away.
The primary upside of using a local Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and in the main were content that should outweigh using an unknown Bishops Cleeve conveyancing solicitor just because they are round the corner.