The Stratford conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Stratford have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I needed a lawyer on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and my preferred Stratford lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them 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 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 solicitors may be able to help.
We are aiming to move home in July. Will my conveyancing solicitor communicate with the removal company on the day of completion. As an aside, can you put forward a removal company in Stratford. Conveyancing solicitor was organised before I stumbled across your website.
On the afternoon of completion you can pick up the keys from your estate agent however this should only happen once the sellers conveyancers confirm to the agent that the monies to complete are in and the keys can be passed over. After that you should advise the removal company that you are ready to move in. As a matter of policy we do not recommend a particular removal organisation but can help you locate a conveyancing in Stratford or a legal practice that specialises in conveyancing in Stratford.
Is it the case that all Stratford solicitor practices on the TSB conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the TSB conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be regulated by the CLC.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Stratford solicitor - who is on the Principality conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Stratford postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Stratford.
I have justfound out that Wolstenholmes have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Stratford for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Stratford conveyancing specialists.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Stratford before appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Stratford. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Stratford to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I am using a search engine for the words on line conveyancing in Stratford it shows results of many conveyancerslocally. How do I determine which is the right conveyancing solicitor for purchase transaction?
The best way of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a personal recommendation, so seek the counsel of colleagues and family who have purchased a property in Stratford or the respected estate agent or mortgage broker. Costs for conveyancing in Stratford vary, so it's a good idea to request at least three fee estimates from different law firms. Dont forget to clarify that the fees are fixed.
Should local authority consent be necessary to split a house into a couple of appartments in Stratford? This has taken place to a house next door to my house in Stratford and was unaware of it happening until the works were finished.
Planning Permission yes. Building Regulations yes.