Buyers lender demanding I instruct a solicitor?

Buyers lender demanding I instruct a solicitor?

6:30 AM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago 16

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I am selling a leasehold flat and 50% share of the freehold. I have a buyer, they have received a mortgage offer. I am doing my own conveyancing. The buyer’s Conveyancers have agreed on the documentation and the Deed of Variation (to extend the lease to 999 years and reduce the Ground Rent to a peppercorn per annum) and all with them held to my order.

The buyer’s lender, TSB, have according to the buyer’s Conveyancers, now demanded at the 11th hour that the Deed of Variation is registered at HM Land Registry prior to completion and not registered by the buyer’s Conveyancers after completion along with the TR1’s etc (though a simultaneous exchange of contracts and completion has been agreed) AND that in order to proceed with this transaction I have to have a solicitor.

My question: can a lender demand a seller to use a solicitor for the conveyance? This is contrary to the Legal Services Act s10 which exempts me from s14-16 as not doing the conveyance for a fee or monetary gain.

For what it’s worth, I have a law degree and 40 years of experience doing my own conveyancing.

The buyer’s Conveyancers are acting for the lender’s interests as well as their client’s interests.

Many thanks

Judith


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Comments

Mike in Worthing

8:04 AM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Hi Judith
Don't put up with this nonsense for a second. I always do my own conveyancing and had a similar experience 13 years ago. If the buyer's lender insists on something, it's between the two of them and not your problem.
I put my foot down and said fine - I'll put a clause in the contract that the purchaser pays my legal costs. I suggest you do likewise. In my case they backed off immediately. You can always say you'll complain to the SRA as well.
Hope this helps.
Mike

Judith Wordsworth

8:14 AM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mike in Worthing at 06/08/2021 - 08:04
Many thanks Mike

Blodwyn

9:46 AM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Judith
This seems to come from the Bankers' Code of Conduct: If we cannot understand this transaction (it not being bog-standard bus ticket type conveyancing), Get Solicitors acting for everybody so we can blame them if anything goes wrong? If TSB want a Solicitor, they presumably have their own panel or can instruct the buyer's?
Mike, leave the SRA out of this, they regulate Solicitors, not Banks!

Judith Wordsworth

9:58 AM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Lindsay Keith at 06/08/2021 - 09:46
The buyers conveyancers, Premier Property Lawyers, are acting for the TSB too.
All the conveyance transaction documentation, including the lease extension by way of Deed of Variation have been approved by PPL and are holding to my order pending exchange/completion.
The quality (grammar, spelling etc), and possibly knowledge, of PPL's conveyancer (or case team) leaves much to be desired.

Adrian Jones

10:20 AM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Hi Judith. I understand the buyer's are using Premier Property Lawyers.

I have recently completed the sale of a property and the buyer also used this firm. It took 7 months to complete, no chain.

They were absolutely useless. To quote my solicitor, "In my 30 years of conveyancing I have never experience such a transaction".

If I discovered they were involved in any future purchase/sale I would withdraw from the deal.

I strongly recommend you do the same.

Abi

10:32 AM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Hi, as soon as I saw the solicitor's name, I knew why TSB were insisting you get your own solicitor's. Premier Property lawyers are terrible and that is putting it mildly. I had to raise a complaint on an online rated portal about them. TSB are probably trying to cover their behind in some way.

Judith Wordsworth

11:25 AM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Does anyone have access to Part 2 of the Mortgage Lenders Handbook please? I need to see what the requirements are under "Where a seller is acting for themselves".
HM Land Registry have confirmed today that ID3 for identity check is still in force and Premier Property Lawyers have an original copy of this.

Many thanks

Judith Wordsworth

13:56 PM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Abi at 06/08/2021 - 10:32
Whatever happens with this transaction I want to try and get them removed from approved panels. Not only because the conveyancer/team are incompetent, legally and grammatically badly educated and obstructive but also they have breached many of the criteria in the mortgage lenders handbook, unknown to me, since the start of this transaction19th May 2021.

Anyone else wanting to hop on the band wagon?

But why should any lender discriminate against a seller who is doing their own conveyancing, which is allowed by law.

Adrian Jones

18:25 PM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Count me in Judith.

Judith Wordsworth

19:52 PM, 6th August 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Adrian Jones at 06/08/2021 - 18:25
Great. Hope it will be OK to post on here once I get things underway.

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