My fiance and I are planning to acquire a property in Norbiton and are in fact using a Norbiton conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Norbiton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Norbiton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Do the conveyancing lawyers that you recommend handle auction conveyancing in Norbiton?
There are a number of auction practitioners we can put you in touch with those specialising in auction conveyancing. Norbiton is just one of our areas of in which our lawyers are based.
The Norbiton conveyancing solicitors that I appointed last week on my purchase in Norbiton have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and my preferred Norbiton lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to help.
Just bought a semi-detached house in Norbiton , how long should it take for the Land Registry to record the transfer to my name? My Norbiton conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to check the post completion formalities are addressed.
As far as conveyancing in Norbiton registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of the country. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ subject to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry must send notices to any third parties. Currently in the region of three quarters of such applications are completed within 12 days but some can be subject to protracted delays. Historically registration occurs after the new owner is living at the premises thus registration formalities is not usually primary concern yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor can contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
How does conveyancing in Norbiton differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Norbiton come to us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because builders in Norbiton typically purchase the real estate, 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 Norbiton or who has acted in the same development.
My conveyancing in Norbiton completes this Friday, yet the person I am buying off wants to move out the next day at at 2pm. Should I agree to such a plan?
If you need a bank loan then your conveyancer will demand that you have vacant possession on Friday - the lending institution will demand it.