What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Wells

There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Wells and Solicitor practices in Wells who provide Conveyancing services It is important to make clear that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. Both can handle associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

We had chosen conveyancing lawyers located in Wells on the Nottingham solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate amount for the legal aspects of the Nottingham mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Nottingham?

Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your property lawyer may charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Nottingham but by your Wells solicitor. Plenty of firms on the Nottingham panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some firms include it on their overall fee.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Wells. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Shortly after, the solicitor contacted me to say that they were not on the Principality conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Principality panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

A relative suggested that where I am buying in Wells I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Wells conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Wells around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Wells Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Wells Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Wells.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Wells 4 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?

Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be recorded by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and obtain up to date copies of the property title for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for twenty pounds.

As co-executor for the estate of my father I am disposing of a residence in Monmouth but I am based in Wells. My lawyer (based 300 kilometers awayneeds me to sign a statutory declaration prior to completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Wells to attest this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Wells based

We are thinking of appointing an online conveyancing practitioner as opposed to a Wells conveyancing firm. Am I making a mistake?

Advantages do exist in having the option pop in to a local Wells conveyancing solicitor for instance

• signing papers same day
• getting one on one explanations of things that you need help with
• the ability to raise concerns if matters are not going as expected

When checking estimates, look out for hidden extras. The majority decent Wells high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Many online agents seem to offer low cost prices, yet have burried 'extras' in the fine print.