My husband and I are planning to acquire a flat in Alton and are in fact using a Alton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Alliance & Leicester have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Alton conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Alton solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Are you able to vouch for a Nottingham Building Society approved Alton conveyancing solicitor that can complete within 10 days? Am I best advised to choose a high street Alton practice or an online comparison site?
We would be happy to suggest some excellent Alton conveyancing firms. You can also walk up the high street in Alton. Approach a couple of firms and request to speak with a conveyancing solicitor for a fee estimate. Mention your deadline together with your reasons and get a commitment on your deadline. Choose the one that genuine.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to attend the offices of the solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Alton so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Whereas this was necessary twenty years ago, almost all mortgage companies no longer oblige their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID documents and there are still manifest advantages to instructing a locally based ayer, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Alton.
What does a local search reveal regarding the house my wife and I buying in Alton?
Alton conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for example Searchflow The local search plays a central role in many a Alton conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your new home. The search will reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject sections.
I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Alton for my sale. Can I check a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
Anyone can search for published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors record, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded call for training purposes.
Do online conveyancing companies do everything a local Alton solicitor does or do I still need to employ a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in Alton?
Where you instruct an online conveyancer they should cover all the tasks your Alton conveyancer would cover.