The Wells conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Wells have suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I needed a solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel and my family Wells lawyer was not. I paid them funds in advance. What should be my next steps?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. 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 Aldermore 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 solicitors should be in a position to help.

Are all Wells Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the UBS conveyancing list of approved practices?

Some major lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

My fiancee and I are at the point of viewing houses in Wells and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Yorkshire BS.

It would be prudent to commence your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the selling agent. As you are seeking a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Yorkshire BS. I assume I don't need a Wells property lawyer on the Yorkshire BS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS mortgage from the register. Yorkshire BS, 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 Yorkshire BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Yorkshire BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property can not be found. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Wells 4 years ago have long since closed. What are my options?

Nowadays there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will know precisely where to find all the relevant paperwork so you may buy or dispose of your house without a hitch. Where copies are not available, your lawyer can put in place insurance or indemnities against future claims on your premises.

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Wells. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Wells - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

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

This information is helpful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to know about it Please note if it is no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for two years before you are legally able to extend the lease. For many Wells leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Wells ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.

A mortgage agreement from a mortgage company for the remortgage of my 3 bedroom apartment is coming any day now. Are you able to recommend an efficient remortgage conveyancing law firm in Wells ?

This site is not designed to help in pursuit of a cheap conveyancing solicitors in Wells. Our goal is to offer excellent value conveyancing but we do not aim to work with the cheapest lawyers. Avoid the trap of appointing brokers offering £99 conveyancing in Wells.In your best case scenario, in opting for cheap conveyancing, you will end up with what you pay for and at worst you will end up invoiced for additional fee and still not receive the service expected.