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Landbay Partners Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers
I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that Landbay Partners will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a big named lender only work with certain lawyers?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. 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, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
I am buying a brand new flat and my conveyancer is informing me that she is duty bound to reveal incentives from the developer as her firm is on the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. Can I insist on an exchange regardless of what my lawyer says about being on the Landbay Partners panel?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the Landbay Partners approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Landbay Partners). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Do I have to visit the offices of the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Liverpool
so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for Landbay Partners undertake all of the work via the post, internet or over the phone. This means that they can undertake your Conveyancing Transaction no matter where you live in England or Wales. However you should check if you can still book an appointment to go into appointed conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
What happens if my solicitor is expelled from the Landbay Partners Conveyancing panel prior to the moving date as agreed at exchange of contracts?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I have a mortgage with Landbay Partners. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Landbay Partners?
Your original mortgage agreement with Landbay Partners will provide that you need their approval in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Landbay Partners’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Landbay Partners will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Landbay Partners directly. You need not do this via a Landbay Partners conveyancing panel lawyer.
Completion of my purchase has taken place with a mortgage from Landbay Partners. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about Landbay Partners. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the Landbay Partners branches or the Customer Care Team at Landbay Partners head office. We understand that complaints to Landbay Partners are resolved very quickly. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
My offer on house has been accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What should be my next step? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Landbay Partners?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Landbay Partners and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
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