The Hartford conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Hartford have suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a firm on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my previous Hartford lawyer was not. I paid them money on account. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Co-operative 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 solicitors should be in a position to assist.
is it true that all Hartford solicitor practices on the Nottingham conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be overseen by the CLC.
It is not clear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Hartford building society branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Hartford conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I have no idea who is right.
As long as the property lawyer is on the bank panel, they must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I have instructed a Hartford lawyer having checked that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Hartford surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
four months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Hartford completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
About to purchase a new build flat in Hartford. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Hartford
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Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply a car parking plan. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Hartford in advance of instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to give a loan on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can check with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Hartford. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Hartford especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Hartford.
We are 3 weeks into a residential purchase having been directed to solicitors by the local agent to do our conveyancing in Hartford. I am not happy. Could you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
They would have to be very bad to suggest changing them. Has your loan offer been issued? In the event that it has you must make them aware of the new contact details and ensure the offer are issued to the new lawyers. Your new conveyancer needs to be on the banks approved list to avoid supplemental charges and frustration. So that should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Hartford