Countrywide Conveyancing/HSBC - avoid like the plague if you want to complete

jonas123

LEP wrote: »

I am stuck in a chain and need to complete on Friday. HSBC is my mortgage provider and CW are representing them. Christ I wish I hadn't made this choice.....anyway.

The thing is contracts have not been exchanged yet but hopefully should tomorrow.

Does anyone have experience of contracts being exchanged and completion going ahead 2 days later with the dreaded HSBC/CW combination involved?

My solicitor told me they needed 5 working days a couple of months ago but trying to get hold of her this week is impossible. The best I have had is a message relayed to me this afternoon that she is awaiting confirmation from CW that contracts can now be exchanged.

I am sick with worry and feel like blowing my brains out :mad:

Only joking about the last bit before any refers me to the Samaritans!

I exchanged and completed on the same day. However we notified Countrywide a week in advance to request funds, and waited for a confirmation note from them. We exchanged and completed on the same day because we had so little trust in them actually managing to send the funds over that we only exchanged once the money was in my solicitors account.

Homebuyer2_2

I have now been informed that CC has appointed Ringrose Law... anyone used them??

cv65user

hi am in process of getting mortgage. hsbc have come out top because i am putting down 100k on 160k house so borrowing only 60k , so I got top rate of 2.49+0.50 tracker life time no product/ exit fees . even my broker could not find a better deal. he did but the product fee out weighed it .

they did initially mention countrywide conveyancing but they also told me as long as the solicitor is csqa qualified it doesnt matter.

can anyone confirm if this is the case.

Yorkie1

Yes, that should be the case now. Avoid CC with the proverbial barge pole.

Any solicitor either on their original panel of 39 (assuming you're in England) or who has the CQS accreditation (this is the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Standards scheme) will be able to act for both you and HSBC.

If you select a solicitor who is not either on the panel or CQS accredited, then HSBC will appoint a second solicitor to do their legal work for them, and you'll pay for it a) in fees, and b) because it'll probably be CC!

Gorskar

Hi,

I got a Mortgage with HSBC for my new build flat.

It turned out that the solicitor I had picked was a member of the panel, although it ended up being a different branch .

The Solicitor was Birchall Blackburn - I was originally going to use the Manchester office, but it ended up being changed to the Southport office because that is the one on the HSBC approved panel - still it meant that I avoided the fee HSBC were going to charge for Countrywide Conveyancing (& was actually cheaper than the Manchester office too)

Would I recommend them?
Yea I guess so - I ended up missing the exchange/completion date (same day) by almost 2 weeks, but I think that was mostly the fault of the seller solicitors (they'd failed to get the premier guarantee ready for the agreed date).
Compared to some of your experiences I could have done a lot worse.

MIKE770

Countrywide was/is used by Millers Estate Agency as well. so must be good commissions for them?

racer_83

I really wish I'd come across this forum before I decided to choose HSBC (though the rates are the best I've come across).

I'm now on week 16/17 since my offer was accepted, and still don't have a completion date. Initially, everything was looking fine, had signed everything I needed to sign by the middle of July, and gave notice on my rented flat. Since then, nothing has gone right. An issue was found (nothing structural or anything, but would cost a few hundred quid to fix) and I've been waiting for a resolution to it ever since. Personally, I don't understand how the issue wasn't picked up a lot earlier, like back in June/July when the searches were being carried out.

Anyway, to cut a very long story short, I'm now homeless (4 weeks and counting, the majority sleeping on a relative's sofa!) and the property has been empty for nearly two months as the vendors moved out - but neither the solicitors or HSBC seem to care.

And one of the worst things has been the absolute lack of communication.

I've complained to HSBC, will be interesting to see what they say.

Yorkie1

Unfortunately you should not have given notice until you had exchanged; your solicitor should have advised you of this.

Did you use HSBC's solicitors or your own plus CC?

_Andy_

CCS are an absolute joke, about as much use as Anne Frank's drumkit. Got a complaint in with them at the moment. They're farcical.

Tancred

Are there still issues with HSBC now that you can use your own solicitor as long they are CQS accredited? Hopefully all this 'noise' has died down?

I'm thinking of using RMNJ Conveyancing - they get decent reviews.