My Solicitor in Chippenham is not listed on the Aldermore Approved Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Aldermore approved list?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Chippenham lawyers but Aldermore will need to retain a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional total legal fees as well as result in delays.
- Choose a new solicitor to to deal with the purchase, obviously checking they are on the Aldermore panel
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Chippenham?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Chippenham. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Chippenham is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Chippenham are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Chippenham you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Chippenham may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I am looking for a conveyancing practitioner in Chippenham for my house move. Is there any facility to check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
You can review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations stemming from inquisitions commenced on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could monitor call for training requirements.
My husband and I are acquiring a studio flat in Chippenham. At the time of instructing our solicitor, they told us that they were on all major UK mortgage company panels. The mortgage broker called yesterday to advise that they don't seem to be on the Nottingham approved list. If it turns out to be true, what should we do? Should we just pick a different conveyancing practitioner that is on their approved list or should we pay for dual representation, with Nottingham selecting their own approved property lawyer.
If you are purchasing a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the buyer’s lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a solicitor has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the property lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the solicitor has to satisfy. Some lenders now insist their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should call Nottingham to find out 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 don't have to instruct a firm on Nottingham's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Chippenham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another solicitor into the mix.