My partner and I are planning to acquire a house in Custom House and are in fact using a Custom House conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Nottingham Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Custom House conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 Accreditation 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Custom House lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My husband and I intend to remortgage our flat in Custom House with Yorkshire BS. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Yorkshire BS. This is solely used to protect Yorkshire BS if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Yorkshire BS had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Do I need to visit the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Custom House so that I can attend their offices if required.
As opposed to ten years ago, the vast majority banks no longer oblige their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. You will still be obliged to supply identification documents and there are still distinct advantages to instructing a locally based practitioner, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Custom House.
Is there a list of Nationwide panel solicitors in Custom House on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings available over the internet. Where you are looking for a Custom House conveyancer on the Nationwide please use our facility.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Custom House. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I can not fathom if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called my Custom House building society branch on numerous occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Custom House conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they will not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I have no idea who is right.
As long as the conveyancing practitioner is on the mortgage company approved list, they must follow the CML Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
What tools are available to search for a Custom House law firm on the Yorkshire Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel upto 10kilometers to meet the solicitor.
Feel free to make use of the search on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of Custom House conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Custom House conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to see whether they are on the Yorkshire Building Society panel