My husband and I are looking to acquire a house in Machen and have instructed a Machen conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Bank of Ireland have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Machen solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Machen lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Bank of Ireland, do Machen lawyers have to pay a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from HSBC as we wish to conduct renovations to our home in Machen. Do we need to select a local Machen solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
HSBC would not normally appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the HSBC list.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Lloyds are being difficult. The Machen solicitor who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Lloyds are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Lloyds have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Lloyds have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Lloyds may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
What will a local search inform me regarding the property I am purchasing in Machen?
Machen conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for instance PSG The local search plays an important role in many a Machen conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search will reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic headings.
We are a fortnight into a freehold purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the selling agent to handle our conveyancing in Machen. I am am starting to be dissatisfied with the level of service. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
They would have to be really poor to suggest diss instructing them. Has the loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you will need to advise them of the new contact details and have the offer are issued to the new lawyers. The conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company panel to avoid added costs and complications. So that should be your first question of the new lawyers. The search tool should help you find a bank approved conveyancer for your home move in Machen
What can I do to establish who is the owner of a house in Machen?
Assuming that the property is registered with the Land Registry, and you have sufficient details of the location of the property, you should be able to view results from the the Land Registry of the recorded proprietor for a for less than a fiver.