I am planning to acquire a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in Hereford who is on the solicitor. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for in certain locations such as Hereford. We dont recommend any particular firm.

Will our solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Hereford.

Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Hereford. There are those who acquire a property in Hereford, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that may be undertaken by the purchaser or by their lawyers which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Hereford. The standard information supplied to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard question of the seller to discover if the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a legal claim for losses resulting from an misleading answer. The purchaser’s lawyers may also conduct an environmental search. This should reveal whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be carried out.

I used Wolstenholmes a few years ago for my conveyancing in Hereford. Now, I need the files but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should 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 Hereford of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for freehold conveyancing in Hereford. I've stumble across a web site which appears to be the ideal answer If it is possible to get all the legals done via web that would be ideal. Should I be wary? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

My son is just in the process of moving house, he had his mortgage in principle. After the offer was accepted on flat we contacted the mortgage company to move forward with his. We were disappointed to hear that banks do not accept all , they need to be on their approved list, is this correct?

Banks tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Hereford on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Presumably not.