Is the fact that my solicitor in Baglan is not on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s work?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the Baglan conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
My relative recommended that if I am buying in Baglan I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Baglan conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Baglan around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Baglan.
The deeds to our property are lost. The conveyancers who did the conveyancing in Baglan 4 years ago have long since closed. What are my options?
As long as you have a registered title the details of your proprietorship will be held by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and secure up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Baglan I like with a park and station nearby, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Baglan suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can 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 existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
As co-executor for the estate of my uncle I am disposing of a house in Newport but I am based in Baglan. My lawyer (approximately 260 miles awayrequires that I execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Baglan who can witness and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are based in Baglan
Am in the process of buying my 1st house in Baglan. Conveyancing solicitor has been appointed. The mortgage adviser suggested that a survey is not needed as the property was only built twenty two years ago.
The bare minimum you need a Home Buyer's Report. As the residence is more than ten years old the property will be without a warranty, so you don't want to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of problems a Home Buyer's report could suffice. The report should highlight any obvious issues and suggest further investigation if appropriate. Where there are any indications of material issues seek a comprehensive Building Survey from the beginning.