I was notified recently by my estate agent that my Stony Stratford lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain that this is indeed the case?
Your first step should be to contact your Stony Stratford conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.
We note that you have a search directory identifying solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Stony Stratford?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Stony Stratford.
The Stony Stratford conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Stony Stratford have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I had to have a solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and my previous Stony Stratford lawyer was not. I paid them £170 in advance. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors 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 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 assist.
I have been advised by numerous property agents in Stony Stratford to locate a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to offer your lawyers over and above a competitor’s?
We refuse to offer any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I am looking for a conveyancing practitioner in Stony Stratford for my house move. Can I see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?
You may review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from investigations commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor call for training reasons.
I have just placed an offer on an apartment in Stony Stratford and the estate agent that we are using suggested his lawyer. He quoted £900 plus VAT and disbursements. Does this sound reasonable?
Don't just go on one quote. One should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in Stony Stratford. Then choose one that you trust and crucially, is on the approved list of the mortgage company that you have applied for a mortgage from.