My wife and I are planning to acquire a property in Bodmin and are in fact using a Bodmin conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report 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 Bodmin solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 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 Bodmin solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
What is the first thing I need to know about purchase conveyancing in Bodmin?
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Bodmin or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the house moving process. For instance, the seller, property agent and sometimes the bank. Choosing a law firm for your conveyancing in Bodmin an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the legal process whose interest is to protect your best interests and to protect you.
On occasion a third party with a vested interest may try and persuade you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your conveyancer is dragging his heels. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do something that is against your solicitors advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a search tool with a view to to identify law firms on the Loughborough BS conveyancing panel for instance in Bodmin?
Lexsure has not been advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a tool.
I have justbeen informed that Stirling Law have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Bodmin for a purchase of a freehold house 9 months ago. How can I establish that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest method to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Bodmin conveyancing specialists.
My husband and I are new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent told us that the owners will only move forward if we instruct the agent's chosen solicitors as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer who is accustomed to conveyancing in Bodmin
We suspect that the seller is not behind this request. If they desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated buyer is counter productive. Speak to the owners direct and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you are going to use your own,trusted Bodmin conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothe ones that will earn the estate agent a referral fee or hit his conveyancing figures pre-set by senior management.
I have today had an offer accepted on an apartment in Bodmin and the estate agent that we are dealing with suggested his lawyer. He quoted nine hundred pounds excluding VAT and 3rd party costs. Does this sound reasonable?
Don't just go on a single estimate. You should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in Bodmin. Then pick one that you are comfortable with and just as important, is on the approved panel of the mortgage company that you have applied for a mortgage from.