Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to have a meeting at the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Morden Park so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Whereas this was necessary 15 years ago, almost all banks no longer need their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to supply ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to choosing a locally based solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Morden Park.
Are all Morden Park Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
Some major banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their panels.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Morden Park off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Nationwide. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.
Coventry BS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a property in Morden Park has been agreed to, what are the next steps?
The property agent will wish to be informed of your property lawyer's details (make sure the lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Contact Coventry BS or your financial adviser and finish off any appropriate forms. Coventry BS will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to book a slot for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average ten days to receive the mortgage offer. Coventry BS will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Morden Park.
My relative suggested that if I am purchasing in Morden Park I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Morden Park conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Morden Park around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Morden Park Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Morden Park Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Morden Park.
I have been pointed in your direction by a number of property agents in Morden Park to locate a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to recommend your services over another?
We refuse to make any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
Myself and my wife have just had an offer accepted on a flat and had an appointment on Friday with Leeds Building Society for the mortgage. They advised me that when it comes to selecting a property lawyer that if they are not on their approved list of property lawyers then we will have to pay out a further fee of £250+. This is is due to the fact that they would then have to instruct a solicitor to act for them in addition to the one we select on our behalf and we assume responsibility for their fees. I have requested Leeds Building Society to furnish me with a list so I can request estimates only from their approved conveyancers but was told that I need to check with each individual lawyer to see if they are on the panel. Is there a simple way of finding out who is on a lender panel?
You should ask Leeds Building Society what their panel criteria is for a conveyancer.Thereafter ask the conveyancing practitioner of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on mortgages for Leeds Building Society in the past. If the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with Leeds Building Society. Another option is to use our search tool and we should be able to locate a conveyancer in Morden Park on the panel for Leeds Building Society.