My fiance and I are looking to purchase a flat in Accrington and have appointed a Accrington conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Birmingham Midshires have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Accrington solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Accrington solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
We are buying a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Accrington who is on the Nottingham solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Nottingham . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Accrington.
My wife and I own a renovated Victorian property in Accrington. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Barclays Direct. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking Barclays Direct to clarify?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Accrington and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
What is different about your site and other internet conveyancing brokers when it comes to conveyancing in Accrington?
At this site get a conveyancing costs illustration from a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that has a full understanding of the issues of your conveyancing in Accrington. As opposed to estate agents and brokerage sites we do not operate referral arrangements with solicitors. Many agents and online brokers 'recommend' the firm that pays the most per referral, as opposed to the best value conveyancing in Accrington
The mortgage broker has recommended their property lawyer for the conveyancing in Accrington - Surely it’s easier to just instruct them?
This is not necessarily the case and you are free to use whichever solicitor you decide for your Accrington conveyancing. A lawyer recommended by an estate agent may not always be the right property lawyer, they may recommend their preferred conveyancing firm who are based far away. In this instance you may not have contact with your conveyancing practitioner and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain updates.