My husband and I are looking to buy a flat in Hoddesdon and have instructed a Hoddesdon conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Leeds Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hoddesdon solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hoddesdon lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
A relative recommended that if I am purchasing in Hoddesdon I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Hoddesdon conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Hoddesdon around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Hoddesdon Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Hoddesdon.
I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Hoddesdon. Now, I need the documents but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing 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 Hoddesdon 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.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Hoddesdon prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend not grant a mortgage on this type of premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Hoddesdon. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
My company is wishing to take over a lease of an office on the high street. Can you recommend solicitors offering competitive fees for non-domestic conveyancing in Hoddesdon for under 2k?
We can recommend firms who have an in-depth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Hoddesdon, including the sale and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. Whether you are intending to purchase or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we will put you in touch with the right firm. Regarding the charges these will vary based on the structure and complexity of the proposed transaction. Let us have your contact information or phone us so that we may provide you with a fixed commercial conveyancing quote.
My husband and I are FTB’s - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent has warned us that the owners will only proceed if we appoint the agent's preferred solicitors as they need a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Hoddesdon
It is highly unlikely the owners are driving this. Should the owner want ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a genuine purchaser is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to instruct your own,trusted Hoddesdon conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will give their estate agent a introducer fee or achieve conveyancing targets set by senior management.