Is the fact that my conveyancer in Sowerby Bridge is not identified on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of his conveyancing?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the Sowerby Bridge conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
My husband and I are approaching an exchange on a house in Sowerby Bridge and my mum and dad have sent the exchange deposit to my conveyancing practitioner. I am now told that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my lawyer needs to make a notification to my lender. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I advised the bank concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for this now to be an issue?
The solicitor is obliged to clarify with lender to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. Your solicitor can only report this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
The Sowerby Bridge conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my purchase in Sowerby Bridge have suddenly shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a firm on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my previous Sowerby Bridge lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for £250 in advance. 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. 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 lawyers should be in a position to assist.
A colleague advised me that if I am buying in Sowerby Bridge I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Sowerby Bridge conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Sowerby Bridge around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Sowerby Bridge Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Sowerby Bridge Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Sowerby Bridge.
I am 3 weeks into a freehold purchase having been referred to solicitors by the estate agent to carry out the conveyancing in Sowerby Bridge. We are not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
A solicitor would have to be very bad to suggest changing them. Has your loan offer been generated? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new solicitor and ensure the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your new conveyancer should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid escalating fees and delays. So that should be your starting point. The search tool can assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Sowerby Bridge
Last June I purchased a leasehold house in Sowerby Bridge. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Sowerby Bridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying
-
This information is important as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have full disclosure The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.