The Westerham conveyancing solicitors that I appointed last week on my purchase in Westerham have suddenly shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a lawyer on the conveyancing panel and my previous Westerham lawyer was not. I paid them funds in advance. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should 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 solicitors may be able to help.
A friend recommended that where I am purchasing in Westerham I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Westerham conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Westerham around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Westerham Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Westerham.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years ago for my conveyancing in Westerham. Now, I need my files however the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Westerham of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business property in Westerham and how can your lawyers assist?
The 1954 Act provides protection to business tenants, granting the legal entitlement to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease comes to an end. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Westerham is one of our many locations in which our lawyers have offices
What is the reason for my requiring a list of items of identification ahead of starting my conveyancing in Westerham?
Westerham s are required by the Law Society, SRA, HM Land Registry and current AML legislation to certify that the have checked the identity of their clients. It is also sometimes a condition of your mortgage offer. Furthermore they have to complete various forms, particularly those relating to stamp duty land tax and need to have details such as your full names, national insurance number and date of birth.