The Ripley conveyancing solicitors that just started acting on my purchase in Ripley have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a firm on the Skipton conveyancing panel and my preferred Ripley lawyer was not. I paid them £170 in advance. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately 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 will need to 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 lawyers may be able to help.
I am intent on selling our property in Ripley and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Ripley conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a factory type conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Ripley. Having lived in Ripley for three years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
I have justfound out that Action Conveyancing have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Ripley for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Ripley conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Ripley differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Ripley contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because developers in Ripley typically buy the site, 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 Ripley or who has acted in the same development.
My step-father has urged me to instruct his conveyancing solicitors in Ripley. Do I follow his guidance?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Ripley conveyancing lawyer the ideal way to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to have referrals from friends or family who have actually used the conveyancer that you are contemplating using.