My wife and I are about to complete buying a property in Rugeley but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have managed to agree reparation from the seller of £3k in the form of a deduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of amending the contract but Virgin Money will not permit this. Why were they notified?
Your solicitor being on the Virgin Money approved list is required to disclose to Virgin Money of any variations to the sale price. If you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to notify the price change to Virgin Money then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Virgin Money and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Rugeley.
What is the first thing I need to know about purchase conveyancing in Rugeley?
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Rugeley and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the house moving process. For example, the vendor, estate agent and sometimes the mortgage company. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Rugeley should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the process whose responsibility is to look after your legal interests and to keep you safe.
Sometimes a third party with a vested interest may try and persuade you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your conveyancer is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do something that is contrary to your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
The Rugeley conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in Rugeley have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my family Rugeley lawyer was not. I paid them money in advance. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Co-operative 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 solicitors may be able to assist.
What will a local search tell me about the property I am purchasing in Rugeley?
Rugeley conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations such as Searches UK The local search is essential in every Rugeley conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search will supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic headings.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Rugeley is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Rugeley are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Rugeley you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Rugeley may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.