Examples of recent questions relating to the New Life Mortgages Solicitor Panel from members of the public
I am selling my maisonette and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are changing their property lawyer. The excuse is that New Life Mortgages will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only engage with specific law firms?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
I am due to move into my new home next Tuesday. My conveyancing lawyer has asked me to provide him with a copy of the building insurance for the house as as he informs me that he is duty bound to validate that it is in order for New Life Mortgages. What risks do New Life Mortgages expect the insurance to cover?
Any lawyer on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in New Life Mortgages’s Part 2 requirements of the CML Handbook (last updated on New Life Mortgages). Being on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these instructions.
What tools are available to search for a local solicitor on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 20 kilometers to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel tool on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the New Life Mortgages solicitor panel.
The solicitors that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Manchester has without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a firm on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel and my previous lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist
For 5 years I had a mortgage with New Life Mortgages. My uncle retired last week and wants to pay off my mortgage. After New Life Mortgages is paid, I want to transfer the property to my mother's name; How long does the process take? Do we need two separate solicitors on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the New Life Mortgages mortgage is discharged.
You
will need a solicitor but they need not be on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel.
You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and
to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to
consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about
the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die
within 7 years of this. There's no capital gains tax for you as it is
your main residence.
Intending to buy a house with a mortgage with New Life Mortgages. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel
We are are taking a long lease of a house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon will soon beappointed. My brother-in-lawsuggested that we enquire that the solicitor in Hendon is on the New Life Mortgages approved list of lawyers. Surely I don't need to do this, do I?
It is not that case that all Hendon conveyancing firms are on the New Life Mortgages conveyancing panel. 7 people a month use our search tool to search for a Hendon conveyancing lawyer on the on the New Life Mortgages panel.