I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in Matlock and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are switching solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Matlock ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 25 years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed 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 claims that it is hearing daily from firms 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. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
At what point can the exchange of contracts occur in residential conveyancing in Matlock and do I need to attend the conveyancers branch?
If you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Matlock you are welcome to attend to sign documents. However, the law practices we work with provide countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when dealing with you digitally. The executing of the property agreement is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the solicitor to address the formalities at the appropriate time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is is usually a five minute process, although where an extended "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Matlock)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
I have recentlydiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Matlock for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Matlock conveyancing specialists.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Matlock I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Matlock suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
We're novice buyers - agreed a price, but the selling agent has warned us that the owners will only move forward if we appoint their recommended solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local conveyancer who is familiar with conveyancing in Matlock
It is unlikely the vendors are driving this. Should the owner require ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Try to communicate with the vendors directly and make sure they understand (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you intend to appoint your preferred Matlock conveyancing firm - rather thanthe ones that will give their estate agent a introducer fee or achieve conveyancing thresholds set by head office.
Do online conveyancing organisations cover everything a high street Matlock solicitor does or must I retain a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in Matlock?
If you choose an online conveyancer they should undertake all the work your Matlock conveyancer would cover.