Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Chalk Farm is not listed on my mortgage company's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of her conveyancing?
That is most likely a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 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 solicitor 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 contact the Chalk Farm conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Chalk Farm. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me to say that they were not on the HSBC 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 HSBC 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.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Nottingham are being difficult. The Chalk Farm solicitor who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Nottingham are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nottingham have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nottingham have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nottingham may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Our offer on a house in Chalk Farm has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have placed an offer on a property, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments booked. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Chalk Farm. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Principality going?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Chalk Farm conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is check that your conveyancer is on the Principality approved list. As to the next stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your transaction, desire for this property and on the state of the market. During a hot market many purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Principality and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancer to proceed with the conveyancing in Chalk Farm.
A friend recommended that if I am purchasing in Chalk Farm I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Chalk Farm conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Chalk Farm around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Chalk Farm Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Chalk Farm.
Have completed on a a detached house in Chalk Farm , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to deal with the formalities evidencing the transfer to my name? My Chalk Farm conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to be certain that my purchase is recorded.
As far as conveyancing in Chalk Farm registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can adjust according to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry have to notify any other parties. At present roughly 80% of such applications are completed within two weeks but occasionally there can be protracted delays. Historically registration takes place once the new owner is living at the premises thus post completion formalities is not usually top priority yet if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor should communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Chalk Farm before instructing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Chalk Farm. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Chalk Farm to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Given that I will soon part with £400,000 on a terraced house in Chalk Farm I would like to talk to a lawyer concerning thehome move before appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?
This is something that we encourage - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor who will be conducting your conveyancing in Chalk Farm.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique person, not a matter reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Chalk Farm should be the figure that you are charged.