Recently been in touch with my conveyancing solicitor in Frenchay who acted for me two years ago and wanted a conveyancing estimate based on an identical type of house move (a leasehold premises and a freehold property) of almost identical values with a mortgage from Halifax. It looks as though am now being charged twice the amount. Am I right to be tempted to shop around for an alternative property lawyer?
The quote is slightly on the high side. Where you are prepared to spend time contrasting quotes you might get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by say £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, providing that you were happy with the service the firm gave you mightlive to regret choosing an an untested lawyer. Remember to ensure the solicitor can act for Halifax. You can make use of our search tool to find a Frenchay conveyancing firm on the Halifax approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Frenchay.
Are you able to recommend a Barclays accepted Frenchay conveyancing practice who can have us moved in within 28 days? Would it be better to use a local Frenchay solicitor or a nationwide firm?
We can recommend some very good Frenchay conveyancing firms. You can also walk up the high street in Frenchay. Approach two or three law practices and ask to see a conveyancing solicitor for a fee estimate. Mention your expectations together with your reasons and ask for a commitment on speed. Appoint the lawyer that genuine.
The Frenchay conveyancing solicitors that just started acting on my purchase in Frenchay have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I needed a lawyer on the HSBC conveyancing panel and my family Frenchay lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds 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 HSBC 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 should be in a position to help.
I bought my flat on 12 May and the transaction details is not yet registered. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Frenchay said it should be formalised inside ten days. Are properties in Frenchay particularly slow to register?
As far as conveyancing in Frenchay is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than the rest of the country. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can differ subject to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry have to notify any other parties. As of today roughly 80% of submission are fully addressed within two weeks but some can be subject to protracted delays. Historically registration takes place after the new owner has moved in to the premises therefore an expedited registration is not always primary concern but if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor can communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.
We are hoping to buy a three bedroom flatin Frenchay with a mortgage from a bank. We have a conveyancer in Frenchay however our bank says he's not on their "panel". Apparently we need to choose one of the our mortgage company panel solicitors or keep our Frenchay solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent our mortgage company. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The bank home loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the bank's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had open panels, including many conveyancing solicitors in Frenchay : a mortgagee could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your lender.