I was informed yesterday by my financial adviser that my Torquay property lawyer is not on the bank Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?
You need to call your Torquay conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your bank.
My partner and I are buying a newly constructed flat in Torquay and my solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the seller. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and my preference is not to delay deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
The Torquay conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Torquay have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I needed a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and my previous Torquay lawyer was not. I issued them a cheque for £250 in advance. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know 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 should be in a position to help.
I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Torquay. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Torquay of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I'm buying a new build house in Torquay with a mortgage from Halifax. The builders refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my conveyancer about this deal as it would jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I'm refinancing my primary property to a buy to let loan with Accord Mortgages Ltd and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on further house. The area we are interested in is Torquay. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two banks and tie in the conveyances?
Do use our comparison tool on this page to be sure that the solicitors are on the appropriate lender panels. Assuming that they are your conveyancer should be able to tie up the two transactions but you should talk with you lawyer and make apparent your desired outcome and requirements.