I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Homerton and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are switching law firm. The excuse is that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Homerton ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
It is is a decade since I acquired my house in Homerton. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate my title deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by the lender or they could be archived with the solicitor who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Homerton relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
Will my lawyer be raising enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Homerton.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers specialising in conveyancing in Homerton. There are those who purchase a house in Homerton, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or by their conveyancers which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Homerton. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual inquiry of the owner to determine whether the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could bring a compensation claim resulting from an inaccurate answer. A buyer’s lawyers will also carry out an environmental report. This will reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be carried out.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years past for my conveyancing in Homerton. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 Homerton of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Homerton prior to appointing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend not grant a loan on this type of house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Halifax. If you call us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Homerton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandmother I am disposing of a house in Swansea but reside in Homerton. My conveyancer (based 250 miles from mehas requested that I execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Homerton to attest and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Homerton based