I plan on acquiring a leasehold flat in Henley On Thames. My lawyer has never been on on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Henley On Thames conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the lender panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Various options include
- Proceed with your preferred Henley On Thames solicitor but your lender will need to use a conveyancer from their approved list. The net result is additional charges and likely frustration.
- Get a new lawyer to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Appeal to your conveyancing practitioner to apply to join the mortgage company panel
We had selected solicitors locally in Henley On Thames on the Clydesdale solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a supplemental fee for dealing with the Clydesdale mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Clydesdale?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your property lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Clydesdale but by your Henley On Thames solicitor. Plenty of firms on the Clydesdale panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
It is unclear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have called my Henley On Thames bank branch on numerous occasions and was reassured it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Henley On Thames conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
Provided that the conveyancing practitioner is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must comply with the CML Handbook provisions for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Henley On Thames. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the RBS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the RBS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I have been told that property searches are the primary reason for obstruction in Henley On Thames house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Henley On Thames.
How does conveyancing in Henley On Thames differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Henley On Thames contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because house builders in Henley On Thames usually acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Henley On Thames or who has acted in the same development.
Is it best to appoint a Henley On Thames conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can carry out the legal formalities but his firm is located a couple of hundredmiles away.
The benefit of a local Henley On Thames conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign documents, deliver your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Henley On Thames know how is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and they were impressed that must trump using an unfamiliar Henley On Thames conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Henley On Thames based.