The Leicestershire conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Leicestershire have without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and my previous Leicestershire lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. 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 Bank of Ireland 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 may be able to help.
Should my lawyer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Leicestershire.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Leicestershire. Plenty of people will acquire a property in Leicestershire, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be carried out by the purchaser or by their lawyers which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Leicestershire. The standard completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual question of the vendor to discover whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the owner, then a purchaser may issue a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate answer. A buyer’s conveyancers may also conduct an environmental search. This will indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations will need to be carried out.
The deeds to my house can not be found. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Leicestershire 10 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?
These day there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will be aware precisely where to look for all the suitable paperwork so you may buy or sell your house without a hitch. If copies are not available, your conveyancer may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against possible claims on your property.
How does conveyancing in Leicestershire differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Leicestershire come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Leicestershire typically buy 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 property lawyers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Leicestershire or who has acted in the same development.
Is it best to go with a Leicestershire conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am buying? We have a good friend who can handle the legal work however his firm is located over three hundred miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Leicestershire conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and on the whole were content that should trump using an unfamiliar Leicestershire conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.
Me and my wife have just had an offer accepted on a house and had meeting on Wednesday with Nationwide for the mortgage. They warned us that when it comes to choosing a lawyer that if they are not on their approved panel of property lawyers then we will be subject to an an additional charge of about two hundred pounds. This is is due to the fact that they will then have to appoint a property lawyer to act on their behalf in addition to the one we appoint for ourselves and we will be on the hook for their invoice. I have requested Nationwide to furnish me with a list so I can obtain estimates only from their approved solicitors but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. Is there a list online?
You should ask Nationwide what their criteria for joining their panel is for a solicitor.Thereafter ask the property lawyer of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on loans for Nationwide previously. Where the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with Nationwide. Another option is to make use of our search facility and we may be able to find you a property lawyer in Leicestershire on the panel for Nationwide.