We are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Fenham with a mortgage. We have a Fenham solicitor, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to select one of the lender panel firms or retain our Fenham and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We feel that this is unjust; can we not require that the bank use our Fenham ?
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 Fenham conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My partner and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Fenham and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a factory type conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Fenham. Having lived in Fenham for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
I have been advised by a few estate agents in Fenham to get a quote from a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your lawyers over and above a competitor’s?
We don’t offer any financial incentive for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
We're FTB’s - agreed a price, yet the property agent has warned us that the seller will only proceed if we instruct the agent's chosen conveyancers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a local solicitor who is accustomed to conveyancing in Fenham
We suspect that the seller is not behind this ultimatum. Should the owner desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Try to communicate with the sellers directly and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to appoint your own,trusted Fenham conveyancing firm - rather thanthose that will earn the negotiator at the agency a kickback or achieve conveyancing figures demanded by corporate headquarters.
I purchased a flat in Fenham last and to date it is still not registered with HMLR. It was part of a new estate and my told me that it can take twelve months to register. I have called HM Land Registry directly and they say that the original application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. Should I be concerned?
Call your - if you are not getting sensible responses, find out about their firm’s complaints procedure and escalate your concerns to a Partner. Registrations for Fenham conveyancing are not known to be especially complex.