My husband and I are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Clapham with a mortgage. We have a Clapham solicitor, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel firms or retain our Clapham property lawyer and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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. A further alternative is for your Clapham conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Our son is about to exchange on a house that has just been built in Clapham with a home loan from Coventry BS. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Coventry BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
We're in Clapham, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is TSB , and our lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Is it the case that all Clapham solicitor firms on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I am expecting a DIP from Coventry BS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Coventry BS recommend any Clapham solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Clapham solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Coventry BS through the process.
I currently have a mortgage with Aldermore for my property in Clapham. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Aldermore?
You must advise Aldermore in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Aldermore’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Aldermore directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Aldermore conveyancing panel lawyer.
Hoping to buy a property located in Clapham and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Clapham. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Clapham area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Clapham. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found