When reviewing consumer advice sites for an affordable solicitor in Bedmond, most say that I should use a CQS kitemarked solicitor. Can you explain what CQS is?
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices issued by the Law Society. Membership achievement establishes a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders (regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon: * the integrity of the senior responsible officer and other key conveyancing staff * the firm's adherence to good practice management standards * adherence to prudent and efficient conveyancing procedures through the scheme protocol It covers numerous firms who perform conveyancing in Bedmond.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Virgin Money, do Bedmond lawyers incur an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Bedmond. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £175. Not long after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the UBS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the UBS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Santander have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a property in Bedmond has been agreed to, what are the next steps?
The property agent will wish to be advised as to your conveyancer's details (make sure the lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Telephone Santander or the broker and finish off any appropriate paperwork. Santander will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or vendor to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Santander will send the offer to you and your solicitors. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Bedmond.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years past for my conveyancing in Bedmond. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should 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 Bedmond 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.
How does conveyancing in Bedmond differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Bedmond come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Bedmond tend to acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Bedmond or who has acted in the same development.
Our lawyer in Bedmond has discovered a a problem with the lease for the property we are buying in Bedmond. The other side have suggested defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the lender conveyancing panel he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. A precondition to being on the bank approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.