Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Bourne is not identified on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of her work?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (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. Where you are concerned you should contact the Bourne conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
I am in a contract race with another prospective purchaser for a property in Bourne. What can I do to expedite matters?
Where the seller is applying pressure for your conveyancing we would recommend that your solicitor is familiar with the location as they will make use of local connections and intelligence. It is possible that they could have conducted otherproperties in the same street. You would be best advised to use a Bourne conveyancing lawyer. In addition, make sure that the conveyancing firm is on the member panel. It is said that nearly one in five of Bourne conveyancing transactions are frustrated or derailed after discovering a purchaser’s lawyer was not on their banks list of approved solicitors. This can often result in the transaction being frustrated by an average of three weeks. It is said that this issue impacts approximately 100,000 home sales every year. Almost all Bourne conveyancing firms can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check at the outset.
My father pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Bourne there could be a number of restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Bourne which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Bourne should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with HSBC. Bourne conveyancing practitioners have been appointed. How long does it take for HSBC to issue the offer to the property lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have HSBC conducted the valuation? Have you informed HSBC as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the HSBC conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
After what seems like an age I have had an offer on a flat in Bourne agreed to, the owners do however have a tied purchase. The vendors have placed an offer on a property, but it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other apartments booked. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Bourne. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with TSB going?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Bourne conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your conveyancer is on the TSB conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a hot market many purchasers would apply for the mortgage with TSB and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancer to move forward with the conveyancing in Bourne.
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Bourne and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a national conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Bourne. We have lived in Bourne for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)
A licensed conveyancer acted on my conveyancing in Bourne three years past and was holding my deeds but has now closed – how do I get hold of these?
Deeds, as such, no longer exist as the majority of properties in Bourne are registered electronically at Land Registry. Should you need to show ownership or are disposing of or re-mortgaging your conveyancer will need to obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.
If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned with reasonable haste.