I am one month into the sale of my apartment in Bristol and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Bristol ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.
Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
My friend suggested that if I am purchasing in Bristol I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Bristol conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Bristol around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Bristol Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Bristol.
The deeds to our home can not be found. The conveyancers who did the conveyancing in Bristol 10 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?
As long as the title is registered the details of your proprietorship will be evidenced by HMLR under a Title Number. It is possible to carry out a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and secure current copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for a small fee.
How does conveyancing in Bristol differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Bristol come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because house builders in Bristol usually acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Bristol or who has acted in the same development.
Hoping to buy a property located in Bristol and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Bristol. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Bristol area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Bristol. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
Is it best to go with a Bristol conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am buying? We have a good friend who can perform the legal work but his firm is located 200miles drive away.
The benefit of a high street Bristol conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Bristol know how is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and the majority were impressed that must trump using an unknown Bristol conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Bristol based.