My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Hockley and have instructed a Hockley conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Alliance & Leicester have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hockley solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional 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 solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Hockley solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
It has been three months following my purchase conveyancing in Hockley concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Hockley differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Hockley come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because builders in Hockley 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Hockley or who has acted in the same development.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Hockley. I've discover a web site which seems to have the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all the legals completed via email that would be ideal. Should I be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
There are a number of houses in Hockley on unadopted lanes. My partner and I are acquiring such a property. What are the advantages and disadvantages of buying a house on a private road?
Hockley conveyancing lawyers are familiar with conveyancing houseson unadopted roads. Your conveyancing practitioner will review the Land Registry data to find any rights or liabilities. In many cases there is a residents association that proprietors pay into for the upkeep of the road. If one exists, the road should be maintained and appear better than council maintained.