Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in St Margarets is not identified on my lender's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s conveyancing?
That is most likely an incorrect assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the St Margarets conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
My grandfather passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in St Margarets. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to HSBC, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Given you intend to re-mortgage then HSBC will require that you use a conveyancer on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your HSBC conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the HSBC mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I used Action Conveyancing a few years ago for my conveyancing in St Margarets. I now require my papers however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing 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 St Margarets of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in St Margarets differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in St Margarets approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because house builders in St Margarets usually purchase 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 St Margarets or who has acted in the same development.
My financial adviser has suggested using their lawyer for our conveyancing in St Margarets - won’t it be easier to just use them?
It is worth checking if the selling agent is recommending a conveyancer or introducing to a property lawyer. There are plenty of St Margarets selling agents who recommend two or three St Margarets conveyancing firms and get nothing from it.