Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Chipping Norton is not on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s conveyancing?
That would most likely be an incorrect assumption to make. There are plenty of plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Chipping Norton conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
The Chipping Norton conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Chipping Norton have suddenly shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a lawyer on the conveyancing panel and my previous Chipping Norton lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What should be my next steps?
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 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 will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the 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.
It has been five months since my purchase conveyancing in Chipping Norton completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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 asset 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Chipping Norton is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Chipping Norton are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Chipping Norton you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Chipping Norton may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
Am I better off to instruct a Chipping Norton conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? An old friend can execute the conveyancing but his firm is located 200miles away.
The primary upside of using a local Chipping Norton conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Chipping Norton know how is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and in the main were content that should surpass using an unknown Chipping Norton conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.