My wife and I have recently bought a property in Stafford. We have since encountered a number of problems with the house which we believe were missed in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that should have been conducted for conveyancing in Stafford?
It is not clear from the question as what problems have arisen and if they are specific to conveyancing in Stafford. Conveyancing searches and investigations undertaken as part of the buying process are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a property owner fills in a form called a Seller’s Property Information Form. If the information proves to be incorrect, then you may have a claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Stafford.
Please help - my lawyer advises that defective lease insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Stafford?
The right level of defective lease indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Chelsea Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.
Are all Stafford Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Virgin Money conveyancing list of approved firms?
It is true that some lenders now utilise the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Intending to buy a house in Stafford. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the UBS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Stafford solicitor is on the UBS conveyancing panel.
Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a property in Stafford?
Unless a prior purchase of the premises completed post 12 October 2013 you can expect lawyers handling conveyancing in Stafford to continue to recommend a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
Am I better off to appoint a Stafford conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can carry out the conveyancing but his firm is located a couple of hundredkilometers away.
The benefit of a high street Stafford conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign documents, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. 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 the majority were impressed that must trump using an unknown Stafford conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.
The property lawyers carrying out our conveyancing in Stafford has forwarded papers to review that indicate that the land is unregistered with epitome documents. Why is the property not yet recorded at HM Land Regsitry?
Although the vast majorities of properties in Stafford are now registered with the Land Registry there are still some that remain unregistered. Any property in Stafford that has been remortgaged since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the HM Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Stafford property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Plenty of Stafford conveyancing solicitors should be capable of dealing with this type of conveyancing but where uncertainty prevails the standard guidance these days is for the current owners to register it first and subsequently deal with the sale conveyance - this no doubt cause a significant delay.