My husband and I are hoping to buy a property in Lancing and have instructed a Lancing conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Lancing solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 property lawyer 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Lancing solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Our lawyer has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Lancing. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer has advised that he must check that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
Regardless of the fact that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. You and the mortgage company are the client. The appropriate lender conditions have to be complied with.
Do I need to pop into the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Lancing so that I can pop in to their offices if required.
Nowadays approved lawyers for mortgage companies conduct all of the communications through Royal Mail, internet or over the phone. This means that they can undertake the legal work for your home move regardless of where you live in the country. However you can see if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Lancing. Now, I need the documents however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Lancing of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Am I best advised to appoint a Lancing conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am buying? We have a good friend who can deal with the conveyancing but they are based 300kilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Lancing conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, deliver your identification documents and pester them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were impressed that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Lancing conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.