Q and A’s regarding the St James Place Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
Much to my surprise I have been told by my estate agent that my the law firm I have appointed is not on the St James Place Solicitor panel. How can I check?
The best course of action for you to take is to contact your conveyancer. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for St James Place.
Expecting to move into my new home next Monday. My conveyancing lawyer has asked me to provide him with a copy of the building insurance for the house as he says that he has to check this in has capacity as lawyer for St James Place. What does the insurance need to cover?
Any lawyer on the St James Place 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 St James Place’s Part 2 requirements of the CML Handbook (last updated on St James Place). Being on the St James Place conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these requirements.
Do all the firms listed on your search have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the St James Place solicitor panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
I am remortgaging my home does my lawyer have to be on the St James Place Solicitor panel?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor but St James Place will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
I'm spending time viewing houses and am about to put in an offer. Is it best to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a home loan with St James Place
It would be sensible to have your start your search soon rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the estate agent. As you are getting a mortgage with St James Place , make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the St James Place conveyancing panel.
My ex -wife’s name is on the St James Place 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 St James Place mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the St James Place 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 St James Place 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.
My offer on house has been accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage app going with St James Place?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the St James Place conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with St James Place and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.