I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Shotton and the estate agent has just text me to advise that the buyers are switching solicitor. The reason given is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Shotton ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
AssumingI were to buy a simple residential housein Shotton mortgage fee and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Shotton?
Any savings you would gain will be limited to the disbursement for searches. Your conveyancing practitioner still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with your sellers property lawyer, stamp duty return, register the property etc. A marginal saving might be made by not needing to register a charge but it won't be significant.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Nottingham, do Shotton conveyancing practitioners incur an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any lender fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Can you point me to a directory of Clydesdale panel solicitors in Shotton on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few lending institutions make their panel listings open the public over the internet. If you are looking for a Shotton property lawyer on the Clydesdale please make the most of our facility.
My husband and I have organised the release of further funds on our mortgage from Nationwide as we want to conduct a loft conversion to our house in Shotton. Are we obliged to choose a local Shotton solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
Nationwide would not normally appoint a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nationwide panel.
How does conveyancing in Shotton differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Shotton come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because new home sellers in Shotton typically acquire the real estate, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Shotton or who has acted in the same development.
How do I search for a Shotton conveyancing solicitor on the mortgage company conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 20kilometers to meet the solicitor.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel tool on this website. Please choose the lender and your location, in this case Shotton and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest Shotton. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the bank solicitor panel.