Recently been in touch with my conveyancing lawyer in Box who conducted the legals 18 months ago asking for a conveyancing costs illustration based on the same type of house sale & purchase (a leasehold residence and a freehold property) of similar values with a loan from Nationwide Building Society. It looks as though am now being charged double. Should I look for an alternative firm of conveyancing solicitor?
The costs illustration is slightly on the steep side. If you are content to expend time comparing charges you might get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by as much as £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, assuming were content with the conveyancing the firm gave you couldlive to rue choosing an an untested solicitor. If is important to be sure the firm can also act for Nationwide Building Society. Do use our search tool to choose a Box conveyancing firm on the Nationwide Building Society approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Box.
The Box conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in Box have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a lawyer on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and my family Box lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for £250 in advance. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately 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 will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Nationwide 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 lawyers should be in a position to assist.
I have been told that property searches are the number one reason for obstruction in Box house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Box.
I am purchasing my first flat in Box with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with Chelsea Building Society. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Box is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Box are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Box you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Box may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
My solicitor in Box has requested from me personal identification documents stating that this forms part of his retainer as a conveyancer on the bank Solicitor panel. Can this be correct?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the mortgage company. This is not unique to conveyancing in Box