I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Wolverhampton and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Wolverhampton ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Wolverhampton costs more?
The conveyancing charges on a leasehold property in Wolverhampton is inevitably greater than on a freehold acquisition or disposal. This is due to the extra time necessary in liaising with the freeholder and managing agents to collate the information concerning whether the rent and service charges have been paid and whether there are any significant expenditure in the foreseeable future on repairs or maintenance of the block.
Should my conveyancer be asking questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Wolverhampton.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors conducting conveyancing in Wolverhampton. Plenty of people will buy a property in Wolverhampton, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Wolverhampton. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard inquiry of the seller to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser could issue a claim for damages as a result of such an misleading answer. The purchaser’s lawyers should also conduct an enviro report. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be conducted.
It has been 2 months following my purchase conveyancing in Wolverhampton took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. 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 asset 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 Wolverhampton differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Wolverhampton contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because developers in Wolverhampton tend to 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 used to new build conveyancing in Wolverhampton or who has acted in the same development.
What are my options where I am unhappy with the solicitor who conducted our conveyancing in Wolverhampton?
Occasionally the level of service you receive is not as you expect, and is is a fact of life that sometimes things do go wrong. That being said there is recourse if you were unhappy with your conveyancing in Wolverhampton. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a property lawyer to their regulator. If things still aren’t sorted out you may consider getting in touch with the Legal Ombudsman.