The Cottesmore conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in Cottesmore have suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the conveyancing panel and my family Cottesmore lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT in advance. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will 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 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 lawyers should be in a position to assist.
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Cottesmore and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used an online conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Cottesmore. We have lived in Cottesmore for six years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? 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 ailment)
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Cottesmore?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Cottesmore. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Should I choose a Cottesmore conveyancing practitioner based in the location that I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can conduct the legal formalities however his firm is located approximately 350kilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Cottesmore conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign documents, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Cottesmore know how is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were happy that must trump using an unknown Cottesmore conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.
I have just had an offer accepted on an apartment in Cottesmore and the estate agent that we are using recommended his . She quoted a thousand pounds excluding VAT and 3rd party costs. Does this sound expensive?
You should not rely on 1 estimate. One should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in Cottesmore. Then select one that you are comfortable with and just as important, is on the approved list of the lender that you have applied for a mortgage from.