The owners of the property we are purchasing hired a conveyancing solicitor in Newham who has insisted on a exclusivity agreement with a deposit 10k. Are such agreements promoted for Newham conveyancing transactions?

This kind of contract is unusual in Newham, conveyancers are not keen on them as they detract from focusing on the main conveyancing focus and if you end up having your deposit forfeited then the solicitor at best left with an upset client and at worst a litigious one. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that just because the vendor has signed a lock out contract they will sell to you. They may be in contravention of the contract if they are offered a big enough financial inducement to do so because an aggrieved purchaser with the benefit of a exclusivitycontract will still be obliged establish consequential losses from the breach and these may not compare to the extra amount that your vendor may gain by reneging on the agreement, however morally shameful that may be.

As a FTB what is the most important number one tip you can give me about purchase conveyancing in Newham?

Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Newham or throughout London is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for friction between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the seller, property agent and sometimes a bank. Choosing a law firm for your conveyancing in Newham should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the process whose role it is to act in your best interests and to protect you.

Every so often a potential adversary will try and persuade you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your solicitor is wrong. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do take action that is contrary to your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.

The Newham conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my purchase in Newham have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I needed a lawyer on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel and my previous Newham lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for £250 in advance. What are my options?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Coventry BS 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 solicitors may be able to help.

I note that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I need this when purchasing a house in Newham? or I am told that there is a law dating back centuries that could mean that homeowners living in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for repairs to the chancel within the church. Is this suitable for conveyancing in Newham?

Unless a prior purchase of the property completed after 12 October 2013 you could expect lawyers conducting conveyancing in Newham to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Newham 5 years ago no longer exist. Will I be able to sell the house?

You no longer need to hold title deeds to evidence that you are the registered proprietor of land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.