Me and my fiance are buying a 2 bedroom flat in West Dulwich with a mortgage. We have a West Dulwich lawyer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our West Dulwich property lawyer and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This feels very unfair; can we not demand that the bank use our West Dulwich lawyer ?
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. A further alternative is for your West Dulwich conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Do I need to visit the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in West Dulwich so that I can attend their offices if required.
As opposed to ten years ago, the vast majority banks no longer oblige their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. It will still be necessary for you to hand over ID documents and there are still manifest benefits to instructing a locally based solicitor, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in West Dulwich.
is it true that all West Dulwich conveyancing solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Yorkshire BS approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be governed by the CLC.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in West Dulwich. I have a mortgage agreed with Barclays. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in West Dulwich. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £175. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner called me to say that they were not on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. West Dulwich is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in West Dulwich are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in West Dulwich you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in West Dulwich may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
What type of premises does your West Dulwich conveyancing quotes relate to?
Our conveyancing quotes are only relevant to standard residential homes in England & Wales. Should you have any different needs such as industrial or agricultural land or commercial conveyancing in West Dulwich do contact us to address this further .