HSBC chamgig conveyancing rules

Yorkie1

You might also want to consider the Legal Ombudsman too.

fimonkey

I;ve come to this thread late in the day - but am about to apply for a mortgage with Britannia and have been informed that they too use a 'panel' of solicitors and I will have to pay extra if I don't use one on their panel as I will have to pay for both my and their solicitor. Meanwhile my solicitor (who isn't on the panel according to my mortgage advisor) has said he will not charge me extra and all will be OK. - I would much prefer a solicitor to undertake this work for me - but is it going to be the same kinda hassle as HSBC?

Thanks

cwcw

fimonkey wrote: »

I;ve come to this thread late in the day - but am about to apply for a mortgage with Britannia and have been informed that they too use a 'panel' of solicitors and I will have to pay extra if I don't use one on their panel as I will have to pay for both my and their solicitor. Meanwhile my solicitor (who isn't on the panel according to my mortgage advisor) has said he will not charge me extra and all will be OK. - I would much prefer a solicitor to undertake this work for me - but is it going to be the same kinda hassle as HSBC?

Thanks

I'm in the process of applying with Britannia at the moment. Nothing was said about us using our own solicitor, but the Britannia panel is much larger than the 43 HSBC has and as we're using a fairly large local firm, they're probably on the panel. Certainly no warning of extra charges for using them, and our solicitor seemed happy when we said we were going with them rather than HSBC.

Taiko

Just me, or is there a lot of missing posts on this thread today...

Yorkie1

Taiko wrote: »

Just me, or is there a lot of missing posts on this thread today...

Are you thinking of this thread instead?

Taiko

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Are you thinking of this thread instead?

Apparently so. Note to self: Don't post while tired.

PreCensored

I'm in the process of buying a property at the moment. Like other people on this forum, HSBC (my lender) informed me I would have to pay an extra £192 to use a solicitor of my choice. Like a fool, I agreed to go with Countrywide Conveyancing who would allocate me a solicitor from their panel. The fee quoted was similar to one I'd already had from a local solicitor in the South East that a friend had recommended.
My complaints would be as followed:
- I'm buying a property in Central London. Why on earth have I been allocated a solicitor in the middle of nowhere in Wales? There must be a thousand firms in London and the South East, and I get some tiny firm (5 staff or something) whom no one has ever heard of. I couldn't find a single review for them anywhere on the internet. Apparently they also have a London branch - but of course they didn't allocate me to them. I've got the Wales office.
- As far as I can tell, the only phone number I have for the legal firm I was allocated puts me through to a secretary who tells me every time that both the solicitors listed on the paperwork are "in another call" or "out of the office". The first time I called, she said they would call back. They never did. The next time I called, I was more savvy, and pushed to speak to one of the actual lawyers. Oddly enough, the lawyer who was "in another call" miraculously then came on the line. I want to talk to the lawyers I am paying hundreds of pounds to when I have a legal question, and surely it should not be this hard?
- All communication seems to be through the countrywide web portal, and nothing seems to happen fast. Unless we chase them, they don't seem to follow up and push the vendors solicitors to respond to queries, meaning that the whole process is taking ages.
- I am not sure our solicitors are used to dealing with more property savvy London sellers. Our vendor works in property and knows his stuff - our solicitor seems to know less than we do about some of the details, and unwittingly agreed to various amendments to the standard sale and purchase agreement, all of which seem to favour the vendor. We have had to question the solicitor about this, as well as adding a load of our own questions about the leasehold arrangements, management/service arrangements and structural condition of the property.

As always, its buyer beware - do not use one of these panel firms. I suspect the 40-odd firms on the panel are all tiny regional firms who could offer extremely low fees for a poor service, thereby giving headroom for Countrywide and the bank to add commissions on to the fee without it making the total fee look uncompetitive. I wish now we had just paid the extra £192 and used our own solicitor.

Richard_Webster

I suspect the 40-odd firms on the panel are all tiny regional firms who could offer extremely low fees for a poor service,

Don't know about the others but in my area one of the branches of a respected "high street" firm is on the panel and they do know what they are doing - particularly when they ask me awkward questions when I am acting for a seller! They are stuck with the lowish fees and HSBC/Countrywide bureaucracy as well, I'm told.

disaffected

Hello,

I'm a potential FTB and I'm just trying to get my head round the whole process. Have identified a property, and it seems like HSBC's current 'Fee Free Special' offers a good option.

Nevertheless, I'm a bit confused by the process in general where HSBC offer to appoint someone to act on your behalf for the purchase. I'm in Scotland, and I understand there are some subtle differences in the legal system here compared with the rest of the UK. As regards purchasing a property, I understood that a solicitor, acting on my behalf, would normally make any formal offer for a property. Having spoken to HSBC to obtain a mortgage quotation/acceptance in principle, I'm told that they would complete the application once I have had an offer accepted. This leaves me confused, and wondering if I'm missing something.. does the legal representation offered by HSBC not extend to making offers?

I've done some research (as much as I can get away with at work), and as far as I can tell from Shelter's website, 'conveyancing' would include noting interest or making offers on my behalf.. but it sounds like a catch-22 where I can't make an offer without legal representation, and my legal representation is dependant on completion of the mortgage application!

I'm not discounting that I have missed anything startlingly obvious that has escaped my attention - everything I know about buying a property has been learned in the last few weeks!

Grateful for any advice/info.. please be gentle if I'm just being an idiot!