The Hanley conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Hanley have suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a solicitor on the conveyancing panel and my previous Hanley lawyer was not. I paid them money on account. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to 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 help.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Hanley. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Hanley?
On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Hanley. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be called to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.
We were going to get a OIP from this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do recommend any Hanley solicitors on the conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Hanley solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and through the process.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with . I assume I don't need a Hanley 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:
- but are not moving to another property
- where has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The deeds to our house are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Hanley 4 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?
You no longer need to have the physical deeds to evidence that you are the owner of your registered land or property, given that the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
I am buying my first flat in Hanley with a loan from . The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my solicitor about this deal as it would put at risk my loan with . Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Hanley prior to retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to grant a loan on this type of house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions from Halifax. If you call us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Hanley. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.