Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Romsey. What is the rationale as to why all Romsey conveyancers aren't included on all mortgage company panels?
Lenders ordinarily restrict either the type or volume of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that the firm needs to have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the nature of firm, some banks such as HSBC made a decision to restrict the number of organisations they permit to represent them. It is worth noting that mortgage companies have no liability for the accuracy of advice supplied by any Romsey conveyancer on their panel. Property fraud was the main trigger for the rationalisation of solicitor panels a few years ago even though there are contrary views concerning whether solicitors sat at the center of that fraud. Statistics from HMLR reveal that thousands of law organisations only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those advocating conveyancing panel cuts ask why conveyancing firms deserve the right to remain on a conveyancing panel when clearly conveyancing is not their speciality?
It is is a decade since I bought my property in Romsey. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find my title documents. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be retained by your lender or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Romsey relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
How does conveyancing in Romsey differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Romsey contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because developers in Romsey usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Romsey or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Romsey I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Romsey in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
What are my options where I am not happy with the property lawyer who conducted our conveyancing in Romsey?
Occasionally the level of service you receive is not as you expect, and is is a fact of life that every so often matters do not go as planned. That being said there is recourse where you were dissatisfied with your conveyancing in Romsey. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a conveyancer to their governing body. If you remain dissatisfied you may consider enlisting the help of the Legal Ombudsman.