I am 4 weeks into the sale of my maisonette in Honor Oak and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are switching law firm. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Honor Oak ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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 buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
Do the conveyancing solicitors listed on your site perform conveyancing in Honor Oak by way of an attended exchange?
We do have a number of conveyancing experts carrying out 24hr exchanges. Please e-mail us to get a fee calculation and details as to dates.
Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Honor Oak?
If you are buying a property in Honor Oak your lawyer will ask you put them with monies to cover the search fees. Normally this is called for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the down payment is payable against the purchase price then this will be asked for immediately prior to contracts are exchanged. The closing balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer a couple of days prior to the day of completion.
I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of delay in Honor Oak conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the common causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Honor Oak.
Just acquired a terraced house in Honor Oak , how long should it take for the Land Registry to register the transfer to my name? My Honor Oak conveyancing solicitor has been painfully slow, so I want to be certain the registration formalities are addressed.
As far as conveyancing in Honor Oak registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timescales can differ depending on who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry have to notify any 3rd parties. As of today roughly three quarters of submission are completed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be protracted delays. Registration is effected once the new owner is living at the property so registration formalities is not usually an essential issue but where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your conveyancer could communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.
How does conveyancing in Honor Oak differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Honor Oak come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because new home sellers in Honor Oak usually buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Honor Oak or who has acted in the same development.