My wife and I are buying a property in Portland. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we will need to send our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
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.
This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as FTB of a ground floor flat in Portland. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Portland?
On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Portland. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be able to collect the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Portland solicitor - who is on the HSBC conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
HSBC will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually HSBC will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Portland postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Portland.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Portland?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Portland. 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…’
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Portland prior to appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor advised that some banks tend refuse to grant a mortgage on such a home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Portland. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Portland especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Portland.
I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Portland for my purchase. Is it possible to see a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
Anyone can review published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could monitor telephone calls for training requirements.
My son is about to join the property ladder, he had his mortgage in principle. When the seller agreed the offer on the flat we rang the bank to issue the formal offer. I was very surprised to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all lawyer, they need to be on their approved list, is this legal?
Mortgage Companies tend to restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. 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 banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Portland conveyancing practitioner 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? Probably not.