The owners of the house we are purchasing have instructed a conveyancing solicitor in Highworth who has suggested a lock out agreement with a down payment of 5k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
This kind of preliminary agreement is not the norm in Highworth, conveyancers will often direct clients away from them as they detract from the primary focus, namely conveyancing and if you end up losing your deposit then the lawyer is left exposed. Furthermore, there is no certainty that just because the proprietor has executed a lock out contract they will complete the sale with you. They may be in contravention of the contract if they receive a big enough incentive to do so because a wronged purchaser with the benefit of a lockout agreement will still be obliged show losses as a consequence of the breach and these may not equate the extra amount that your seller may gain by reneging on the contract, however morally reprehensible it undoubtedly is.
When can the exchange of contracts take place for sale conveyancing in Highworth and am I required to attend the lawyers branch?
If you are local to our conveyancing solicitors in Highworth you are welcome to attend to sign documents. That being said, the lender approved solicitors we recommend offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you electronically. The signing of the contract is not the critical part. A signed contract simply enables the conveyancer to exchange contracts at the suitable time, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is is usually a five minute process, although where an extended "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Highworth)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
The Highworth conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Highworth have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I had to have a firm on the HSBC conveyancing panel and my previous Highworth lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know 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 HSBC 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 should be in a position to assist.
I moved into my house on 12 February and the transaction details is not yet on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Highworth advises it will be formalised in a couple of weeks. Are properties in Highworth uniquely lengthy to register?
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Highworth registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ subject to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry must send notices to any third persons or bodies. As of today in the region of three quarters of submission are completed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to longer delays. Historically registration takes place once the buyer is living at the premises so an expedited registration is not always primary concern yet if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers could contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Highworth before appointing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not give a loan on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Highworth. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Highworth to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I have been recommended by a few estate agents in Highworth to choose a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to offer your lawyers over another?
We don’t give any financial incentive for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.