Vida Homeloans Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
My partner and I are FTBs. Within the 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Vida Homeloans have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyers should contact Vida Homeloans and see if they can apply for membership of the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Vida Homeloans will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Our lawyer has identified a defect with the lease for the property we are purchasing. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor has advised that as he is on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is Vida Homeloans?
Just because you have a mortgage offer from Vida Homeloans does not mean to say that the property will be meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the CML Handbook Requirements. You and Vida Homeloans are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to by the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel who has to balance acting for you and Vida Homeloans
I am Googling for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be assured that all the practices that are identified on your website are on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel?
The law firms on our directory have advised us that they are on the Vida Homeloans panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Vida Homeloans panel. To date we have not been informed by either a bank or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel is not accurate.
My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the house. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Vida Homeloans , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Vida Homeloans will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Vida Homeloans 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 Vida Homeloans 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 Vida Homeloans mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
We expect to receive a DIP from Vida Homeloans this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc).Do the Vida Homeloans recommend a solicitor on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer
You will need to appoint solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and the Vida Homeloans through the process.
The mortgage over my property is with Vida Homeloans. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide 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 Vida Homeloans?
You must advise Vida Homeloans prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Vida Homeloans’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Vida Homeloans directly. You need not do this via a Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel solicitor.
Sometime soon me and my wife are remortgaging a 1st floor apartment in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon will soon beinstructed. My brother-in-lawrecommended that we check that the solicitor in Hendon is on the Vida Homeloans approved list of lawyers. Is this really necessary?
Not all Hendon conveyancing firms are on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel. 5 people a month use our search tool to find a Hendon conveyancing solicitor on the on the Vida Homeloans approved list of lawyers.