My wife and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Hilsea with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Hilsea solicitor, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or keep our Hilsea property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We consider that this is unjust; can we not insist that the lender use our Hilsea lawyer ?
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. Another option that might be available is for your Hilsea conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We see that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I appoint them for our conveyancing in Hilsea?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Hilsea.
I am selling my apartment in Hilsea. Will my conveyancer need to be on the RBS conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the RBS 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 conditions fairly frequently in recent years.
How does conveyancing in Hilsea differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Hilsea approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because builders in Hilsea usually purchase 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 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 Hilsea or who has acted in the same development.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in Hilsea. I've land on a web site which appears to be the ideal offering If it is possible to get all this stuff done via web that would be ideal. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?