I went with a Littlehampton based lawyer for our conveyancing in Littlehampton recently. After carefully reading the Ts and Cs I noteI am responsible for fees even where the transaction does not complete. Would I be best advised to use an internet conveyancing company promising no-sale-no-fee conveyancing in Littlehampton?
It is usually ‘give and take’ in that if "No Sale No Fee" is offered then the fee levels will generally be more expensive to offset those cases that do not go ahead. Please beware that these schemes rarely protect you from disbursements for instance Littlehampton conveyancing search expenses.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in Littlehampton. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I can't find the title documents. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be with the lender or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Littlehampton involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
We wanted to use a property lawyer in Littlehampton for our house move. Our broker informed us that our mortgage lenders Santander won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
Banks ordinarily imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their member panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, a few lenders have reduced the amount of firms they allow to act for them. You should note that Santander have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Santander Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there remains differing opinions regarding the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Littlehampton only execute very few conveyances per annum.
What will a local search tell me concerning the property we're buying in Littlehampton?
Littlehampton conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance PSG The local search is essential in every Littlehampton conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject headings.
It has been three months following my purchase conveyancing in Littlehampton concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I was advised by numerous selling agents in Littlehampton to choose a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your services ahead of a competitor’s?
We don’t make any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission 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.