Landbay Partners Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor is not identified on the Landbay Partners Solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s work?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for Landbay Partners.
Please assist. For no fault of my lawyer but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Landbay Partners was dated random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on Tues etc. My lawyer informs me that as she is on the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are now out of date.
A precondition to being on the Landbay Partners approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Landbay Partners)which states that a local authority search be not more than half a year old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Landbay Partners.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to visit the offices of the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Manchester
so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
Whereas this was necessary 15 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 Manchester
.
My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the house. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Landbay Partners , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Landbay Partners will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Landbay Partners 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 Landbay Partners 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 Landbay Partners mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels.
I had an offer accepted on an apartment on the 20th February 2014, valuation was booked 3 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Landbay Partners and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Landbay Partners to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Landbay Partners mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the Landbay Partners mortgage in order to sell?
As regards the Landbay Partners mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of Landbay Partners in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.