The Swansea conveyancing solicitors that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Swansea have suddenly closed. I chose them because I had to have a firm on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel and my family Swansea lawyer was not. I issued them a cheque for £250 in advance. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would 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 Yorkshire BS 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 should be in a position to assist.
Will my conveyancer be making enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Swansea.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Swansea. Plenty of people will buy a property in Swansea, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be initiated by the purchaser or by their lawyers which can figure out the risks in Swansea. The conventional set of information sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the owner to determine whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could bring a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate response. A purchaser’s conveyancers may also commission an enviro search. This should reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be carried out.
I have a terraced Georgian house in Swansea. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Barclays . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Barclays to clarify?
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Swansea and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
Taking into account that I will soon spend 450k on a terraced house in Swansea I wish to talk to a lawyer concerning theconveyancing prior to giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?
We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the lawyer due to be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Swansea.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique individual, not a matter number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Swansea should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandfather I am disposing of a house in Cardiff but live in Swansea. My lawyer (based 250 kilometers awayrequires that I execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Swansea who can attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Swansea based
Is there a distinction between surveying and conveyancing in Swansea?
Conveyancing - in Swansea or anywhere in England and Wales - is the legal term given to transferring legal title of property from one person to another. It involves the checking of the title. Whether buying or selling, you should be aware of anything affecting the property such as proposals by government departments, illegal buildings, or outstanding rates. The conveyancer should conduct the appropriate searches and inquiries on the property. Surveying relates to the structure of a property itself. A surveyor will look at a house, flat and any outbuildings you are purchasing and will help you find out about the condition of the building and, if there are problems, give you a powerful reason for negotiating the buying price down or asking the vendor to fix the defects before you move in.