Q and A’s regarding the Habito Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
I have been advised by my broker that I have to pay Habito fees if I use my own solicitor. How good are the Habito conveyancing panel solicitors? I dont care which law firm I use as long as they're good and reasonably priced. Would you recommend a specific law firm on the Habito panel?
Habito’s conveyancing panel is substantial so your best bet is just to check with the firms you are getting quotes from whether they are on it. You can search by postcode on the search tool on this site to find solicitors that Habito will allow to act for them.
My fiance and I intend to remortgage our apartment with Habito. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Habito conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Habito conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Habito 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 Habito .This is solely used to protect the Habito 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 Habito 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.
Do I have to have a meeting at the offices of the Habito conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in London
so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
As opposed to ten years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in London
.
My grandfather passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the property. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Habito , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this possible?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Habito will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Habito conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Habito conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Habito mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I previously instructed online solicitors based in London who are on the Habito solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate fee of £135 for the legal aspects of the Habito mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Habito?
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 Habito but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Habito will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
Do most banks operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Habito conveyancing panel requirements are different to Habito’s conveyancing panel requirements.
Habito have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Habito or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Habito will tell you what documents they want. Habito will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Habito will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.