Can you help? My Cambridge lawyer is informing me me that he has toorder Cambridge conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the HSBCconveyancing panel. Is this really necessary?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a mortgage company your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Cambridge conveyancing searches.
We had instructed conveyancers locally in Cambridge on the UBS solicitor panel. They have just billed me a further sum for the legal aspects of the UBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by UBS?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your property lawyer is entitled to levy a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by UBS but by your Cambridge conveyancer. Some firms on the UBS panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Skipton. I assume I don't need a Cambridge conveyancer on the Skipton panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Skipton 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 Skipton mortgage from the register. Skipton, 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 Skipton has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Skipton has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Virgin Money. Is it usual for Virgin Money to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Cambridge is approved on their conveyancing panel? Virgin Money have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Virgin Money to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial offices in Cambridge and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to affords a safeguard to business lessees, granting the a statutory right to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease comes to an end. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Cambridge is one of our hundreds of locations in which the firms we work with are based
I have been sourcing a conveyancing lawyer in Cambridge for my home move. Can I check a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
You may see documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded call for training reasons.
My partner and I recently found out that one of the directors of the solicitors handling the purchase conveyancing in Cambridge is related to the vendor. Is this permitted?
On the basis that no conflict arises this is allowable. If you are requiring mortgage finance then the lender may have a say as many lenders have specific requirements concerning this. For example for Royal Bank of Scotland as of 28/1/2025, the requirements read as follows :