Completed the sale of my flat in St Giles last January but the buyer keeps Skype messaging me to moan that his lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale legalities now that I have sold?
After completion of your disposal your lawyer is obliged to forward the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer must also evidence that the home loan has been redeemed to the purchasers lawyers. There are no post completion requirements just for conveyancing in St Giles.
The St Giles conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in St Giles have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a firm on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and my preferred St Giles lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. 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 Kent Reliance 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.
Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are the number one cause of hinderance in St Giles house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in St Giles.
five months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in St Giles completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 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 residence 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.
How does conveyancing in St Giles differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in St Giles come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because developers in St Giles usually purchase the land, 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 conveyancers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in St Giles or who has acted in the same development.
What tools are available to identify a St Giles solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am happy to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the search on this website. Please select a lender and your location and you will see a number of St Giles conveyancing lawyers locally. We have detailed some St Giles conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to check whether they are on the Virgin Money approved list