I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Barons Court and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Barons Court ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.
Lenders attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
What is the first thing I need to know concerning purchase conveyancing in Barons Court?
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Barons Court or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of room for confrontation between you and others involved in the home moving process. For instance, the vendor, selling agent and even potentially the mortgage company. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Barons Court an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the transaction whose role it is to protect your legal interests and to protect you.
We are witnessing a worrying increase in the "blame" culture- someone must be at fault for the process being so protracted. We recommend that you your first instinct should be to trust your solicitor above the other players when it comes to the legal assignment of property.
Should our solicitor be raising questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Barons Court.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in Barons Court. There are those who buy a property in Barons Court, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Barons Court. The conventional set of information given to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the vendor to determine if the property has ever been flooded. In the event that the property has been flooded in past which is not notified by the owner, then a purchaser may commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an inaccurate reply. The buyer’s solicitors will also commission an enviro report. This should reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be conducted.
Me and my brother have a semi-detached Georgian property in Barons Court. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Coventry Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Barons Court and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Barons Court for my home move. Can I review a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
You can search for presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For records Pre 2008, or to check a firm's record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes recorded call for training reasons.
What is the average conveyancing fee for conveyancing in Barons Court?
The average cost in 2014 for conveyancing in Barons Court was £1,419 not including Land Tax and HMLR fees.