I am selling my home in Dolgellau and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Dolgellau ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal 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. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
We were just about to exchange contracts for a semi detached house in Dolgellau. We have hit a stumbling block. The mortgage offer with Lloyds TSB Bank expires on 14/11/2025 but the vendors are putting forward a completion date of 18/11/2025. Can one prolong the loan expiry date?
The best person to address this question is your solicitors who will assess whether he or she is better off negotiating with the mortgage company, seller’s lawyers, property agents or conceivably all parties given the circumstances your transaction as of today.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Dolgellau? Is this really warranted?
To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Dolgellau conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account showing where you reside.
Under Money Laundering Regulations, property lawyers are duty bound to ascertain not just the identity of conveyancing clients but also the origin of the money that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this will lead to your solicitor ending their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your property lawyers will have an obligation to inform the relevant authorities should they believe that any monies received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.
Me and my partner are buying a flat in Dolgellau. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we have to deposit money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I have paid off my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Dolgellau conveyancing practitioner on the Aldermore panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Aldermore mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Aldermore mortgage from the register. Aldermore, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Aldermore has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Aldermore has instructed the Land Registry to do so
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Dolgellau. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A couple of days later, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Santander conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Santander panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Dolgellau. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Dolgellau
-
Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.