Difficulty between solicitor and lender. Help!

marcosscriven

Conveyancing seemed to be going smoothly, but now my solicitor says there's issues with the mortgage paperwork. He says:

1) He wants in writing proof from lender my partner has received independent legal advice (as they'll be on the mortgage, but not title, to avoid extra stamp duty). The lender confirms on the phone they have received this and happy to proceed, but that they don't send out written confirmation. They say the form is for them, and not my solicitor.
2) He wants a copy from the lender of a mortgage deed he already has his own copy of. He won't explain why the one the lender is sending is wrong, nor why he can't use the 'right' one he already has (and it's a standard form, nothing specific to us printed on it).
3) He must have a hard copy of the mortgage, and that the one Barclays faxed is insufficient. He won't explain why, and the lender says the faxed one is identical and should suffice.

Any ideas?! The lender isn't moving, and solicitor is adamant he won't budge.

davidmcn

marcosscriven wrote: »

1) He wants in writing proof from lender my partner has received independent legal advice (as they'll be on the mortgage, but not title, to avoid extra stamp duty). The lender confirms on the phone they have received this and happy to proceed, but that they don't send out written confirmation.

Why won't they send out written confirmation to their solicitor?

Leaving that aside, why can't your partner provide written
confirmation? Or your partner's solicitor?

2) He wants a copy from the lender of a mortgage deed he already has his own copy of. He won't explain why the one the lender is sending is wrong, nor why he can't use the 'right' one he already has (and it's a standard form, nothing specific to us printed on it).
3) He must have a hard copy of the mortgage, and that the one Barclays faxed is insufficient. He won't explain why, and the lender says the faxed one is identical and should suffice.

Aren't 2 and 3 the same problem? Anyway, Barclays can post a hard copy to him, surely?

marcosscriven

davidmcn wrote: »

Why won't they send out written confirmation to their solicitor?

I asked, they just say it's not something they do, and they'd be happy for the solicitor to call and confirm.

davidmcn wrote: »

Leaving that aside, why can't your partner provide written
confirmation? Or your partner's solicitor?

My partner's solicitor did send my solicitor a copy of the ILA form he sent to Barclays. My solicitor says that's not sufficient, and requires written confirmation from Barclays they received it.

davidmcn wrote: »

Aren't 2 and 3 the same problem? Anyway, Barclays can post a hard copy to him, surely?

Sort of, the mortgage deed itself is wrong even in the fax apparently (needs to have the word 'Sole Proprietor' on it). What's really bizarre is that he does have a copy of the correct form from elsewhere, but point blank refuses to explain why he can't use that one. In fact, each time i ask, he just repeats they need to send him the right one, getting more and more angry with me each time.

I think the hard copy of the mortgage can be done, it's just a 5 day post delay, and we're holding up the chain.

wantonnoodle

I can't really offer up much help per se here, only to say you have my sympathy. Our conveyancer was similarly stubborn, insisting he wanted a revised mortgage offer after the lender lifted the retention, and was not prepared to accept an email and phone calls with the lender confirming they were lifting the retention and would not be issuing a revised offer as all other terms were unchanged. The other impasse was when the conveyancer was expecting something from the lender before they could request the funds for completion, while the lender was ready to release funds on receipt of the request from the conveyancer.

This is where our broker came in here - he spoke to both parties on our behalf, and in both cases managed to get both parties on side. While he was not particularly with our conveyancer, as he seemed reluctant to deal with our broker, it was our broker that held it all together and stopped the whole transaction collapsing on more than just these 2 occasions. If you have a broker, it may be worth seeing if they can step in and help. Ours was worth his weight in gold and these situations are why I would always recommend using a good broker over going it alone.

Thrugelmir

marcosscriven wrote: »

Any ideas?! The lender isn't moving, and solicitor is adamant he won't budge.

Why have you become involved? These are matters between the solicitor and the lender. One assumes that there is ongoing discussion to resolve.

marcosscriven

I agree I shouldn’t have to.

But, he doesn’t seem at all concerned about delaying exchange, or even if the vendors find another buyer. He just moans and says “it could take months”. Also, is it not my concern if the solicitor is making up conditions the mortgage company say don’t exist?