As someone unfamiliar with the Shropshire conveyancing process what’s the number one tip you can impart concerning the home moving process in Shropshire

Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Shropshire or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for friction between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the seller, property agent and on occasion a bank. Selecting a lawyer for your conveyancing in Shropshire is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the transaction whose role it is to act in your best interests and to protect you.

On occasion a potential adversary will try and persuade you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your conveyancer is wrong. Or your financial adviser may try to convince you to do something that is against your lawyers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.

Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Skipton Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Shropshire?

First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Virgin Money, do Shropshire conveyancers incur a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

My offer was accepted on a house in Shropshire on 3/6/2024, valuation was booked 4 days after, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Co-operative and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Co-operative to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I have finally had an offer on an apartment in Shropshire agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on a flat, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other apartments booked. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Shropshire. What do I do now? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money?

It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey, Shropshire conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your property lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Concerning the next phase this very much depends on the uniqueness of your case, desire for the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market many buyers would apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their conveyancer to proceed with the conveyancing in Shropshire.

2 months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Shropshire completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

How does conveyancing in Shropshire differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Shropshire approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because house builders in Shropshire typically purchase the real estate, 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 Shropshire or who has acted in the same development.