I am 4 weeks into the sale of my apartment in Emersons Green and the EA has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a leading lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Emersons Green ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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 impact on this.
My son is about to exchange on a new build apartment in Emersons Green with a home loan from RBS. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the RBS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the RBS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
The Emersons Green conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in Emersons Green have without warning closed. I only went with them because I needed a solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and my family Emersons Green lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know 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 will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Virgin Money 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 assist.
Just bought a semi-detached house in Emersons Green , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to record the transfer to my name? My Emersons Green conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to check that my purchase is registered.
As far as conveyancing in Emersons Green registration is no faster or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can vary depending on the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry need to notify any third parties. At present approximately 80% of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be protracted delays. Historically registration occurs after the purchaser is living at the premises thus an expedited registration is not always an essential issue yet where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers should communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.
What does commercial conveyancing in Emersons Green cover?
Non domestic conveyancing in Emersons Green incorporates a broad range of advice, supplied by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the assignment of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of tenancies.