Is the fact that my solicitor in St Pancras is not on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of her conveyancing?
That would most likely be an incorrect assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume 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. Should you be concerned you should simply call the St Pancras conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
Can you suggest a sanctioned St Pancras conveyancing lawyer finish our home move within a very limited time frame? Would it be better to use a high street St Pancras practice or an internet firm?
We can recommend some very good St Pancras conveyancing firms. You can also walk up the high street in St Pancras. Go in to a couple of firms and ask to see a conveyancing solicitor for a quote. Discuss your expectations together with your reasons and get a commitment on speed. Appoint the one that you trust.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in St Pancras? Why is this being asked of me?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering regulations require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identity of the potential client they are dealing with prior to agreeing to accepting their conveyancing retainer. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign should reaffirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be viewed. Where you refuse to hand over ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you.
4 months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in St Pancras concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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 premises 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.
To what extent are St Pancras conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to issue transparent conveyancing figures?
Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are set rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their charges to clients.The Law Society have a practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not to be regarded as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, however, constitute the Law Society’s perspective of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in St Pancras or across England and Wales.