Is the fact that my solicitor in Handsworth is not on my lender's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of his conveyancing?
That is more than likely a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters 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. If you are concerned you should contact the Handsworth conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.
At what point does exchange of contracts happen for domestic conveyancing in Handsworth and am I required to be at the lawyers branch?
If you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Handsworth you are welcome to attend to sign contracts. However, the firms we work with offer a national conveyancing service and give just as comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The signing of the purchase agreement is not the critical part. A signed contract simply enables the firm to address the formalities at the suitable time, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The exchange process is is usually a five minute process, although where a long "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Handsworth)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
I understand that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I need this when buying a property in Handsworth? or I am told that there is an ancient law that means some house owners residing in a parish church boundary will be compelled to contribute towards maintenance to the chancel within the church. Is this appropriate for conveyancing in Handsworth?
Unless a prior purchase of the property took place after 12 October 2013 you can take it that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Handsworth to continue to recommend a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
four months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Handsworth concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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 premises 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.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Handsworth I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Handsworth for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
Am I better off to choose a Handsworth conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can perform the legal work but they are based 400miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Handsworth conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to sign documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Handsworth know how is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and in the main were happy that should outweigh using an unknown Handsworth conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.