What is the best way to search for the right lawyer to give a first class service for my conveyancing in Dorset?
First ask relatives who they experienced using in the past and if they were happy with the service.
Second, search the web for conveyancing in Dorset. Call two or three listed and invite them to email you their conveyancing charges and have a conversation with the lawyer who will handle your legal process in advance ofmaking your choice.
Option 3 is to use our search tool to help you find the right lawyers for you based on your personal factors including area of the property,timings, complications and who the proposed lender is. Don't take the bait of low cost conveyancing in Dorset
Having sold my house in Dorset last August but the buyer keeps SMS messaging me to say her lawyer is waiting to hear from myconveyancer. What are the post completion sale legalities following completion?
Following your sale your solicitor should deliver the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor should also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been paid off to the buyers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures just for conveyancing in Dorset.
I am assisting my mother sell her flat in Dorset. Does the conveyancing solicitor order the EPC or should I organise this?
After the demise of HIPs, energy assessments remained a mandatory component of selling a property. An EPC should be commissioned before the property is advertised. This is not as aspect of the sale process that lawyers ordinarily arrange. Where you are instructing a Dorset conveyancing solicitor they may be able to arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with long established Dorset accredited person
Can you help - my lawyer says that lack of planning permission insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Dorset conveyancing?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Accord Mortgages Ltd and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Dorset solicitor - who is on the HSBC conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
HSBC will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually HSBC will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Dorset postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Dorset.
Will our lawyer be raising enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Dorset.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers conducting conveyancing in Dorset. Some people will acquire a property in Dorset, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be carried out by the buyer or by their solicitors which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Dorset. The conventional set of property information forms given to a buyer’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual inquiry of the owner to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a compensation claim resulting from an incorrect answer. The purchaser’s lawyers will also conduct an environmental search. This should higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be initiated.
How difficult is it to change solicitor as I have to instruct a firm on the The Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel. I hired a high street conveyancing solicitor in Dorset round the corner but he is not accepted by The Royal Bank of Scotland
We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Dorset on the The Royal Bank of Scotland panel. Please note that the law firms that we on the directory do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are fully regulated by the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Dorset. Using the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this site, you can scrutinise costs for conveyancing solicitors in Dorset and beyond.
We have an offer in principle from Nationwide Building Society who said that they will lend up to £218k. At what point do I need to instruct a lawyer for conveyancing? Dorset is where we plan to move to.
You can appoint a conveyancer now so that the conveyancer can open the file so they can commence their AML checks etc. If and when you wish them to commence work you will be asked for a deposit usually about £200. That would generally be after you have the mortgage offer and survey results, however if you wish to speed the process you can start quicker even though you may be risking some expense.