It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Ledbury. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't track down my title deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be with the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Ledbury relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
The Ledbury conveyancing firm that just started acting on my purchase in Ledbury have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a lawyer on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and my previous Ledbury lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT on account. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would 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 Virgin Money 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 lawyers should be in a position to help.
We expect to receive a OIP from Aldermore this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Aldermore recommend any Ledbury solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Ledbury solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Aldermore through the process.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Ledbury. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
My offer was accepted on a house in Ledbury on 8/8/2023, valuation was booked five days after, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Aldermore and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Aldermore to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in Ledbury. I now require my papers however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 Ledbury of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am buying a new build house in Ledbury with a mortgage from Coventry Building Society. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it may impact my loan with Coventry Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I decided to have a survey done on a property in Ledbury before appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders may not give a mortgage on such a house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Ledbury. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Ledbury especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Ledbury.