Do lawyers request an advanced payment when it comes to conveyancing in Hanham?

If you are buying a property in Hanham your solicitor will ask you place them with monies to cover the search fees. Generally this is called for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the down payment is as part of the purchase price then this should be needed shortly in advance of contracts are exchanged. The closing balance that is needed should be transferred shortly before completion.

Me and my partner are buying a house in Hanham. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to send funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

Is it correct that all Hanham CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nationwide conveyancing list of approved practices?

Some major lenders now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is 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 solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

TSB have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a apartment in Hanham has been accepted, now what?

Your estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (be sure the solicitors are on the lender’s approved list). Contact TSB or the financial adviser and finish off any relevant documentation. TSB will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or owners to book a slot for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week to get a mortgage offer. TSB will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Hanham.

A colleague suggested that where I am buying in Hanham I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Hanham conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Hanham around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Hanham Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Hanham.

I used Arc property Solicitors a few years ago for my conveyancing in Hanham. I now require my papers however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing 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 Hanham of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Hanham with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my conveyancer about the extras as it could adversely affect my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.