I am 4 weeks into the sale of my ground floor flat in Folkestone and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Folkestone ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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 unlikely to have any impact on this.
The Folkestone conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Folkestone have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I needed a firm on the Skipton conveyancing panel and my family Folkestone lawyer was not. I paid them money in advance. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors 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 Skipton 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 help.
three months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Folkestone completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
What does commercial conveyancing in Folkestone cover?
Folkestone conveyancing for business premises covers a wide range of advice, provided by regulated solicitors, relating to business premises. For example, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the assignment of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of tenancies.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my uncle I am selling a house in Neath but reside in Folkestone. My lawyer (who is 200 kilometers from meneeds me to sign a stat dec ahead of the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Folkestone who can witness this legal document for me?
Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Folkestone based
Is there a reason that Folkestone conveyancing costs are more expensive for leasehold and freehold properties?
Inevitably there is more work required for leasehold conveyancing. Folkestone has many leasehold properties. There is more hours involved in the purchase: for example, the lease and leasehold information (including up to date service charge, ground rent and buildings insurance details) obtained from the freeholder or managing agents. There are strict criteria that the lease must meet in order to be acceptable to a mortgage company. If it does not meet these requirements, the lease must be amended, which can involve additional expense for the seller.