As someone clueless as to conveyancing in West Sussex what’s the number one tip you can impart concerning the ownership transfer in West Sussex

Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in West Sussex or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. For example, the seller, selling agent and on occasion your bank. Choosing a lawyer for your conveyancing in West Sussex is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the transaction whose interest is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.

On occasion a potential adversary may try and convince you that you should follow their advice. As an example, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your conveyancer is slow. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do take action that is contrary to your lawyers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.

The West Sussex conveyancing solicitors that just started acting on my purchase in West Sussex have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel and my previous West Sussex lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT in advance. What are my options?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would 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 Clydesdale 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 assist.

My wife and I are purchasing a house in West Sussex. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to deposit funds into their account. What protection do 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.

When it comes to lenders such as Barclays, do West Sussex property lawyers incur a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in West Sussex. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Shortly after, the lawyer called 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.

I need some fast conveyancing in West Sussex as I am under an ultimatum to complete within 4 weeks. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are are a cash buyer you are at liberty not to have searches conducted although no lawyer would recommend that you don't. With plenty of history conveyancing in West Sussex the following are instances of issues that can crop up and therefore impact future mortgageability: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Charges, Overdue Grants, Road Schemes,...

I am buying a new build house in West Sussex benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this side-deal as it would put at risk 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.