What is the first thing I need to know concerning purchase conveyancing in Hampshire?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Hampshire and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for confrontation between you and others involved in the ownership transfer. For instance, the seller, selling agent and sometimes a lender. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Hampshire should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the process whose interest is to protect your legal interests and to protect you.

On occasion a potential adversary may try and convince you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your lawyer is slow. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do take action that is against your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

My lender has recommended solicitors on their panel based in Hampshire but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Hampshire local to me. Can you help?

Not all Hampshire conveyancing practitioners are on all lender’s conveyancing panel. Please make the most of our search tool to locate a Hampshire conveyancing solicitor on the on the bank panel.

I have paid off my mortgage with . I assume I don't need a Hampshire on the panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the mortgage from the register. , and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Hampshire. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their . I paid an on account payment of £200. Soon after, the contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, are being a right pain. The Hampshire solicitor who is on the conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Am I better off to use a Hampshire conveyancing solicitor based in the area that I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal formalities but her office is over three hundred miles drive away.

The benefit of a local Hampshire conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and they were content that should surpass using an unfamiliar Hampshire conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.

Hampshire Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

The answer will be helpful as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have complete disclosure The majority of Hampshire leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced by the freeholder. Where you buy the flat you will have to pay this contribution, normally in instalments during the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive. Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders?