I am in the market for a reasonably priced property lawyer. Should I go for for an online conveyancer or a family Lakenham conveyancing solicitor?
Lakenham is a special area, where neighbourhood experience is a big bonus. The laid-back lifestyle has an upside – but not for your conveyancing. The solicitors that we endorse providing wide Lakenham knowledge with a proactive, hands-onattitude that helps the conveyancing to progress with the minimum of fuss. It will certainly help where they benefit from established relationships with financial advisers, estate agents, valuers and other Lakenham conveyancing firms
I am expecting a AIP from Santander this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Santander recommend any Lakenham solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Lakenham solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Santander conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Santander through the process.
I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Lakenham on 19/3/2025, valuation was booked five days later, all came back fine. Property lawyer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Yorkshire BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Yorkshire BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Lakenham solicitor - who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds 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 Lakenham 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.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Lakenham and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Lakenham conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed an internet conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Lakenham. Having lived in Lakenham for 4 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
2 months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Lakenham took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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 asset 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.
Should I appoint a Lakenham conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can handle the legal formalities however her office is over three hundred kilometers away.
The primary upside of using a high street Lakenham conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Lakenham know how is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and in the main were content that must outweigh using an unfamiliar Lakenham conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Lakenham based.
I bought a property in Lakenham last 4/3/2024 and to date it is still not registered with HM Land Registry. It is part of a development site and my property lawyer told me that it can take 12 months to register. I have called the Land Registry directly and they say that the initial application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. Should I be concerned?
get in touch with your lawyer - Where you are unsatisfied with the responses, find out about their firm’s complaints protocol and escalate your problem to a Partner. Registrations for Lakenham conveyancing are not known to be significantly delayed.