It is a dozen years since I acquired my home in Cotswolds. Conveyancing solicitors have just been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find my deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be with the lender or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Cotswolds relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
My property lawyer in Cotswolds has never been on on the Barclays Solicitor Panel. Can I still continue with my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Barclays panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Cotswolds solicitors but Barclays will need to retain a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the overall legal charges and cause delays.
- Get an alternative lawyer to act in the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Barclays approved.
- Try to convince your Barclays based solicitor to try to join the Barclays panel
Will commercial conveyancing searches disclose impending roadworks that could affect a commercial land in Cotswolds?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Cotswolds will carry out a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers spend in sourcing accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Cotswolds. The search result sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Cotswolds.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Cotswolds it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can cause delays to Cotswolds commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Cotswolds.
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Cotswolds. I now require my file but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should 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 Cotswolds of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Is it best to appoint a Cotswolds conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? We have a good friend who can execute the conveyancing but his firm is located 200kilometers away.
The benefit of a high street Cotswolds conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Cotswolds know how is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and the majority were impressed that must trump using an unknown Cotswolds conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.
We are thinking of instructing an online conveyancing practitioner rather than a Cotswolds conveyancing practice. Should I ‘stay local’?
There are advantages of having the option visit a local Cotswolds conveyancing solicitor such as
- signing papers same day
- getting face-to-face explanations of issues you don't understand
- the ability to complain if things are not going as expected
When comparing quotes, look carefully for hidden extras. The majority decent Cotswolds high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Often online companies seem to offer low cost prices, but have burried 'extras' in the small print.