I have just been advised by my broker that my Leek solicitor is not on the bank Solicitor panel. How can I be certain if this is indeed the case?
Your first step should be to contact your Leek conveyancer. You lawyer should inform you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.
I am selling my flat in Leek. Will the property lawyer need to be required to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nationwide 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.
We previously appointed solicitors based in Leek on the Leeds Building Society solicitor panel. They are now charging me a supplemental charge for dealing with the Leeds Building Society mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Leeds Building Society?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor is entitled to charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Leeds Building Society but by your Leek property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Leeds Building Society panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
How can we know in advance if a Leek conveyancing solicitor on the Nationwide panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Leek seeking recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer handling your transaction.
I have instructed a Leek conveyancing practitioner having checked that they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Leek postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Leek.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Leek before appointing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some banks tend not grant a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Leek. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Leek to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
We're new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent told us that the seller will only proceed if we instruct their chosen solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street solicitor with experience of conveyancing in Leek
We suspect that the owner is not behind this requirement. Should the seller desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious buyer is likely to cause more damage than good. Speak to the owners direct and make the point that (a)you are serious buyers (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you are going to appoint your own,trusted Leek conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn their estate agent a introducer fee or meet his conveyancing figures demanded by head office.