My wife and I are buying a 2 bedroom flat in South Croydon with a mortgage. We wish to retain our South Croydon conveyancer, but the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or continue with our South Croydon property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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. Another option that might be available is for your South Croydon conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My grandson is purchasing a newly built flat in South Croydon with a mortgage from Skipton. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Skipton conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. 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 Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in South Croydon? Is this really warranted?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the ID of the potential client they are dealing with prior to agreeing to accepting their conveyancing retainer. The Terms and Conditions that you are required to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be checked. Should you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your solicitor would not be able to accept instructions from you.
We are selling our home in South Croydon. Does the solicitor have to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently currently.
Am I best advised to choose a South Croydon conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal work but her office is 300miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street South Croydon conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and in the main were happy that should outweigh using an unknown South Croydon conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being South Croydon based.