My wife and I are hoping to acquire a property in Croydon and have appointed a Croydon conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Croydon solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Croydon solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
AssumingI was to purchase a simple residential propertyin Croydon for cash and dispense with a survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Croydon?
The sole reduction in fees you would make on is the costs for searches. The conveyancer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, correspond with your vendors conveyancing practitioner, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a charge but it won't be significant.
I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Croydon. Now, I need the files but the law firm has closed. 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 Croydon of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in Croydon differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Croydon approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because developers in Croydon typically acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Croydon or who has acted in the same development.
Taking into account that I am about to spend 450k on a property in Croydon I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer concerning theconveyancing in advance of instructing the firm. Can this be arranged?
This is something that we encourage - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer due to be doing your conveyancing in Croydon.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique individual, not a case number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Croydon should be the figure that you are charged.
As co-executor for the will of my aunt I am disposing of a house in Cardiff but live in Croydon. My conveyancer (who is 250 kilometers from mehas requested that I execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Croydon who can witness and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Croydon based