Is the fact that my solicitor in Barnsley is not listed on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of her conveyancing?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Barnsley conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my home in Barnsley. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't locate the title documents. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by the lender or they may stored with the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Barnsley involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
My aunt informed me that in buying a property in Barnsley there could be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Barnsley which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Barnsley should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Barnsley. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A couple of days later, the solicitor contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Barnsley lawyer having made sure that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Barnsley surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal impending roadworks that may impact a commercial estate in Barnsley?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Barnsley will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers spend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Barnsley. The report provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Barnsley.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Barnsley it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately could cause delays to Barnsley commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Barnsley.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Barnsley 5 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?
In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer should be aware exactly where to find all the relevant paperwork so you can purchase or sell your house without a hitch. If duplicates are not available, your lawyer may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against future claims on your property.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Barnsley I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Barnsley in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities 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 consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.