Is the fact that my conveyancer in Shaw is not listed on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of his work?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack 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. If you are concerned you should simply call the Shaw conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.
My home in Shaw is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Does my solicitor need to be required to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently in recent years.
A friend recommended that if I am purchasing in Shaw I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Shaw conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Shaw around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Shaw.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Shaw is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Shaw are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Shaw you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Shaw 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.
Am I best advised to choose a Shaw conveyancing solicitor based in the area that I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can perform the legal formalities however they are based 200miles away.
The benefit of a local Shaw conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, hand in your ID and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and in the main were impressed that should outweigh using an unknown Shaw conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Shaw based.