I am selling my flat in Warkworth and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are swapping solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Warkworth ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
I am purchasing a property mortgage free in Warkworth. I have resided for the previous twelve years in Warkworth. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I know the road and vicinity very well should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Warkworth conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer will try and steer you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but she is duty bound to take that path of guidance. Do bear in mind; if you are intend to dispose of the house at a future date, it will be of importance to your prospective buyer what the searches disclose. There are plenty of instances where properties with no practical issues can still reveal adverse search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Warkworth will be able to give you some helpful guidance in this regard.
The Warkworth conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Warkworth have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a firm on the Skipton conveyancing panel and my previous Warkworth lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. 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 Skipton 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.
Various online forums that I have visited warn that are the number one reason for stalling in Warkworth conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Warkworth.
How does conveyancing in Warkworth differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Warkworth contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Warkworth typically buy 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 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Warkworth or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Warkworth I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Warkworth suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.