Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Grappenhall is not listed on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s conveyancing?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible 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 most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the Grappenhall conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to pop into the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Grappenhall so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
Whereas this was necessary 15 years ago, almost all mortgage companies no longer need their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the borrowers signature. It will still be necessary for you to hand over ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to using a local ayer, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Grappenhall.
My wife and I are buying a apartment in Grappenhall. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to send our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I had a mortgage agreed in principle with UBS. Grappenhall conveyancing practitioners are instructed. How long does it take for UBS to issue the offer to the lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have UBS conducted the survey? Have you informed UBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the UBS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Grappenhall. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Shortly after, the solicitor called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nationwide panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Grappenhall?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Grappenhall. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I purchased a house in Grappenhall last 3/11/2017 and to date it is still not registered with HM Land Registry. It was part of a new estate and my conveyancing practitioner told me that it may take twelve months to complete the registration formalities. I have spoken with HMLR directly and they have informed me the initial application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. Do I need to be concerned?
It is your conveyancing practitioner that you should turn to here in order to satisfy any questions which have arisen as part of the registration process for your Grappenhall property. Normal Grappenhall conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the previous owner’s solicitor that they will assist in resolving any registration raised by HMLR so it may be a case of taking action to enforce that undertaking in some way.