Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Oval is not on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of his work?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) lack of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should contact the Oval conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.
Our nephew is about to exchange on a new build apartment in Oval with a mortgage from Nottingham. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
As a first time buyer what is the most important number one tip you can give me regarding purchase conveyancing in Oval?
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Oval and elsewhere in England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the vendor, estate agent and even potentially the bank. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Oval is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the process whose interest is to act in your legal interests and to protect you.
We are witnessing a worrying creep in the "blame" culture- someone has to be at fault for the process taking so long. We recommend that you should always trust your lawyer ahead of all other players in the conveyancing process.
We wanted to use a property lawyer in Oval for our house move. Our financial adviser has since advised us that our mortgage company Accord Mortgages Ltd won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?
Lenders on the whole imposes restrictions either the category or the volume of conveyancing practices on their member panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the type of firm, a few lenders have limited the amount of firms they use to represent them. You should note that Accord Mortgages Ltd have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Accord Mortgages Ltd Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there are mixed opinions about the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Oval only conduct very few conveyances a year.
Various online forums that I have come across warn that are the number one cause of stalling in Oval house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Oval.
What does commercial conveyancing in Oval cover?
Oval conveyancing for business premises incorporates a broad range of guidance, offered by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. For example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the assignment of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of tenancies.