we are a couple who are purchasing a newbuild apartment in Woolwich with a residential mortgage from .We have a Woolwich conveyancing lawyer but advised that his firm is not listed on their approved list of firms. It seems we have no choice but to instruct a panel lawyer or keep our high street solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that use our lawyer?
No, not really. The home loan issued to you contains various provisions, one of which will be that conveyancers needs to be on the approved list. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for
When it comes to mortgage companies such as , do Woolwich incur an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with . I assume I don't need a Woolwich on the panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the mortgage from the register. , and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, are being pedantic. The Woolwich solicitor who is on the conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Woolwich. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Woolwich and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Woolwich and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Woolwich. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Woolwich area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Woolwich. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
After what seems like an age I have had an offer on an apartment in Woolwich accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have submitted an offer on a flat, although it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other flats booked. I have selected a nearby conveyancing lawyer in Woolwich. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with going with ?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is an associated chain given your reluctance to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Woolwich conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your is on the approved list. As to the next stages this very much depends on the specifics of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. During a hot market some home buyers will apply for the mortgage with and arrange for the survey and only if it comes back ok would they pay their to proceed with searches.