My partner and I are planning to purchase a house in Eltham and have instructed a Eltham conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Eltham lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Eltham solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Can the conveyancing lawyers identified via your search tool handle auction conveyancing in Eltham?
We know of a number of niche solicitors we can put you in touch with those who can conduct auction conveyancing. Eltham is just one of our locations where our lawyers have a presence.
The Eltham conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Eltham have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I needed a firm on the Aldermore conveyancing panel and my preferred Eltham lawyer was not. I paid them funds in advance. What should be my next steps?
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 the problems encountered. 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 Aldermore 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 may be able to help.
I used Action Conveyancing a few years ago for my conveyancing in Eltham. I now require my papers but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Eltham of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in Eltham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Eltham come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because developers in Eltham usually acquire the site, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Eltham or who has acted in the same development.
In surfing the web for the phrase conveyancing in Eltham it shows results of numerous conveyancersin the area. How do I determine which is the right conveyancing solicitor for the sale of my house?
The best method of finding a suitable conveyancer is via personal referral, so ask friends and relatives who have acquired a property in Eltham or a local estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Eltham vary, so it's a good idea to request a minimum of three fee calculations from varying types of solicitors. Dont forget to clarify that the charges are assured not to rise.