As a FTB what is the most important advice you can impart about purchase conveyancing in Merriott?

Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Merriott or throughout Somerset is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the seller, estate agent and sometimes a lender. Appointing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Merriott is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the process whose role it is to look after your legal interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a distinct ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone has to be blamed for the process being so protracted. We recommend that you must always trust your conveyancer ahead of all other parties in the home moving process.

The Merriott conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Merriott have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a firm on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and my family Merriott lawyer was not. I paid them funds on account. What do I do now?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to help.

Just bought a detached house in Merriott , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to record the transfer to my name? My Merriott conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to check that my ownership is recorded.

As far as conveyancing in Merriott is concerned, registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of the country. Rather than based on location, timeframes can adjust subject to who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry communicate with any interested persons or bodies. Currently in the region of 80% of such applications are fully addressed within two weeks but occasionally there can be extensive delays. Registration occurs once the new owner has moved in to the premises so post completion formalities is not usually top priority but if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers can contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.

I am purchasing my first flat in Merriott with a mortgage from Skipton Building Society. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent advised me not reveal to my solicitor about the extras as it will jeopardize my loan with the lender. 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Merriott conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Merriott conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Merriott conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be of use:

Can they put you in touch with clients in Merriott who can give a testimonial? How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Merriott Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

You should want to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will either make life much simpler or a lot more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of their service. In conclusion, be sure you know the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. This question is useful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will need to know about it What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment?