I am one month into the sale of my flat in Whitchurch and the EA has just text me to advise that the purchasers are switching law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Whitchurch ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
IfI was to acquire a simple residential housein Whitchurch for cash and have no survey and no local authority searches how much should I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Whitchurch?
Any savings you would make will be limited to the costs for searches. The conveyancer is obliged to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, correspond with the sellers solicitor, stamp duty submission, register the title etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a mortgage but it will not be a lot.
When does exchange of contracts take place for domestic conveyancing in Whitchurch and do I need to be at the solicitors branch?
If you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Whitchurch you are invited in to sign the paperwork. That being said, the firms we recommend provide countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide just as detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you digitally. The executing of the property agreement is not the critical part. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the firm to address the formalities when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a lengthy "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Whitchurch)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Whitchurch and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a nationwide conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Whitchurch. We have lived in Whitchurch for six years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to check with 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 ailment)
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Whitchurch. Now, I need my files but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Whitchurch of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Whitchurch I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Whitchurch for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan that many years will be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.