My husband and I are looking to acquire a flat in Taplow and are in fact using a Taplow conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Aldermore have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Taplow lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Taplow lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Taplow last April yet the purchaser is e-mailing me complaining that her lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
Following your sale your lawyer should deliver the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor must also send confirmation that the mortgage has been paid off to the purchasers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion requirements peculiar conveyancing in Taplow.
Are the BSA intent on creating a search tool with a view to list law firms on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel for example in Taplow?
We have not been informed any plans on the part of the BSA to promote such a tool.
Please help - my lawyer advises that absentee landlord insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Taplow conveyancing?
The appropriate level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Yorkshire Building Society and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
We previously chose conveyancing lawyers located in Taplow on the Aldermore solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a supplemental fee for dealing with the Aldermore mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Aldermore?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your lawyer may charge a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Aldermore but by your Taplow property lawyer. Numerous firms on the Aldermore panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Taplow. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Soon after, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Skipton panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My partner and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Taplow and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Taplow. Having lived in Taplow for 4 years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Taplow for my house move. Is it possible to see a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public may read published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded telephone calls for training reasons.