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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Fleet list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the Fleet Mortgages Conveyancing Panel
Frequently asked questions relating to the Fleet Mortgages Conveyancing Panel
I have just been informed by my broker that my property lawyer is not on the Fleet Mortgages Conveyancing panel. What can I do to check?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the the approved Fleet Mortgages solicitor panel.
My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our apartment with Fleet Mortgages. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Fleet Mortgages .This is solely used to protect the Fleet Mortgages if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Fleet Mortgages had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Fleet Mortgages approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Fleet Mortgages solicitor panel.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Fleet Mortgages Solicitor panel before the completion date?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. 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 for a fee.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
There is generally no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their service
I previously instructed online conveyancers based in London who are on the Fleet Mortgages solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate fee of £150 for the legal aspects of the Fleet Mortgages mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Fleet Mortgages?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Fleet Mortgages but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Fleet Mortgages will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Fleet Mortgages. Solicitors have been instructed? What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Fleet Mortgages?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Fleet Mortgages completed the survey? Have you advised Fleet Mortgages as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel? sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued