Should lawyers ask for money on account when it comes to conveyancing in Oxton?
If you are buying a property in Oxton your solicitor will request that you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Generally this is needed to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is payable against the sale price then this will be required shortly before exchange of contracts. The final balance that is needed will be payable shortly before completion.
My wife and I are downsizing from our house in Oxton and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A high street Oxton lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using an online conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Oxton. We have lived in Oxton for six years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to get clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
The deeds to our house can not be found. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Oxton 10 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?
You no longer need to have the physical deeds to evidence that you own the land or premises, given that the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Oxton I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Oxton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you need a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
Am I better off to instruct a Oxton conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am purchasing? An old friend can deal with the legal formalities but they are based over three hundred miles away.
The benefit of a high street Oxton conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to execute documents, deliver your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Oxton know how is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were happy that should outweigh using an unknown Oxton conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.
We are purchasing a four room ground floor flatin Oxton with a mortgage from a bank. We like our lawyer in Oxton yet our bank says he's not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint from the our bank panel solicitors or stay with our Oxton solicitor and incur the extra costs for one of their panel ones to represent our mortgage company. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that our bank use our Oxton lawyer?
No, not really. The mortgage company home loan offered to you is subject to conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the bank's conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had open panels, including most conveyancing solicitors in Oxton : a mortgagee could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.