I am need of leasehold conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (five years old) in Bookham. 95% of the appartments are already occupied. Is it strictly necessary to order neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Bookham?
Where you are obtaining a mortgage, your mortgage company will require some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Bookham conveyancing searches are optional. No doubt your conveyancer, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or you may need to instruct a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Bookham.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Bookham? Why is this being asked of me?
Bookham conveyancing solicitors as well as nationwide property lawyers accross the UK have a duty under Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules to check the identity of any client with a view to ensure that clients are who they say they are.
Conveyancing clients are required to produce two forms of certified ID; proof of ID (typically a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (usually a Utility Bill no older than three months).
Evidence of the origin of funds is also required under the money laundering laws as solicitors are duty bound to ensure that the monies you are using to buy a property (whether it be the deposit for exchange or the total purchase price where you are buying without a mortgage) has come from a reputable source (such as employment savings) as opposed to the product of criminal activity.
The Bookham conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my purchase in Bookham have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a lawyer on the Santander conveyancing panel and my previous Bookham lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Santander conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
Are there any apps to assist me to locate a Bookham law firm on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am prepared to travel upto 10miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the search on this website. Please choose the mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Bookham conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Bookham conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can call them to verify whether they are on the Clydesdale panel
Am I better off to go with a Bookham conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can handle the legal work however his firm is located 200kilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Bookham conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign documents, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Bookham know how is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and in the main were happy that must surpass using an unfamiliar Bookham conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.
Me and my partner are looking at buying our first property in Bookham. Please can you recommend a cheap Bookham solicitor that can assist us as well as act for Skipton?
The purpose of this site is limited to being a directory service for conveyancers who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Skipton in certain areas such as Bookham . We dont recommend any particular lawyer.