Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Hereford?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Hereford your lawyer will ask you to provide them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is as part of the purchase price then this should be asked for shortly prior to exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is due should be transferred shortly before completion.
Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Hereford. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to put funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
My husband and I are in the process of looking at houses in Hereford and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a property lawyer in place at this stage? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Yorkshire BS.
It would be wise to start your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Hereford solicitor having made sure that they are on the Principality conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality 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 lawyer 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 Hereford postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Hereford.
My friend advised me that if I am purchasing in Hereford I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Hereford conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Hereford around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Hereford Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Hereford.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Hereford is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Hereford are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Hereford you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hereford may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
We are 17 days into a leasehold purchase having been referred to solicitors by the estate agent to do our conveyancing in Hereford. I am am very disappointed with the level of service. Can you help me find new solicitors?
A solicitor would need to be very poor in order to consider replacing them. Has your mortgage been sent? If so you will need to make them aware of the new contact details and have the loan are re-issued. Your solicitor ideally needs to be on the mortgage company panel to avoid supplemental expenses and frustration. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. Our search tool can help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Hereford
New build sellers have put forward a conveyancing practitioner and I've sought an estimate from them. It's almost £400 less expensive than my local Hereford solicitor. What's the catch?
Developers often have lists of lawyers who are quick and who know the developer’s paperwork and property lawyer. As many developers offer an incentive to choose a preferred conveyancer for this reason, any increased charges can be avoided and a builder will not recommend a conveyancing factory and run the risk of having the transaction stall when they need an exchange within a tight deadline. The argument for not agreeing to use the recommended conveyancer is that they may prove hesitant to 'push' your interests for fear of alienating the housebuilder. If you worry that this may be the situation you should keep with your high street Hereford conveyancing practitioner.