I am purchasing a house for cash in Todmorden. I have been living for the previous dozen years in Todmorden. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I know the road and vicinity intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a home loan, then the vast majority of the Todmorden conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will 'advise', no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches completed, but she is duty bound to take that path of advice. One thing to take into account; if you are intend to sell the house in the future, it will be of importance to your future purchaser what the searches disclose. On occasion houses with functional issues can still reveal negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Todmorden will be able to give you some constructive guidance in this regard.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Todmorden? Why is this being asked of me?
In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Todmorden conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is usually satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill showing your correct address.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancing solicitors are obliged by law to ascertain not only the identity of conveyancing clients but also the origin of the money that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this may result in your conveyancer terminating their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your conveyancers will have an obligation to notify the appropriate authorities should they believe that any amounts received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.
The Todmorden conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Todmorden have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel and my preferred Todmorden lawyer was not. I paid them money in advance. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist.
I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Todmorden. I now require my file but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Todmorden of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Todmorden is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Todmorden are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Todmorden you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Todmorden may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
I today become aware that one of the partners of the firm acting on the purchase conveyancing in Todmorden is an uncle of the seller. Is this acceptable?
On the basis that no conflict arises this should be fine. If you are requiring a home loan then the lender may have a say as many lenders have specific requirements on this. For example for Bradford & Bingley as of 16/4/2024, the requirements read as follows :