Common questions asked concerning the Investec Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
A conveyancer I had intended to instruct on a remortgage said she would charge more if my mortgage is with Investec because of their unusual legal requirements. Am I likely to be frustrated using Investec? Any comments will be appreciated
Investec conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Investec conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Investec will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My husband and I are refinancing our maisonette with Investec. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Investec conveyancing panel requested us to identify any adults 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 form unique to the Investec conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Investec 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 Investec .This is solely used to protect the Investec 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 Investec 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 attend the offices of the Investec conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Leeds
so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for Investec 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.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Investec Solicitor panel before the moving date as agreed at exchange of contracts?
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.
I currently have a mortgage with with Investec. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. If I am intending 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 Investec?
Investec must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Investec’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Investec 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 Investec directly. You need not do this via a Investec conveyancing panel solicitor.
The for formalities of my purchase has taken place with a mortgage from Investec. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about Investec. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the Investec branches or the Customer Care Team at Investec head office. Ordinarily complaints to Investec are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
Can I register a complaint to Investec about the lawyers being on the Investec conveyancing panel?
There is little point in complaining directly to Investec. All solicitors and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. You can get information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is addressed by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.