Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Hurst is not on my lender's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s conveyancing?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the solicitor 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 Hurst conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.
We're in Hurst, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Co-operative , and our solicitor is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
This question may be naive but I am new to the home buying as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Hurst. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Hurst?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Hurst. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the seller's lawyers, and once they have received this, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
We expect to receive a DIP from Yorkshire BS this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Yorkshire BS recommend any Hurst solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Hurst solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Yorkshire BS through the process.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Hurst. My financial adviser suggested a lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A couple of days later, the property lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the Barclays 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 Barclays 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 if I am purchasing in Hurst I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Hurst conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Hurst around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Hurst Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Hurst.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Hurst I like with a park and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hurst suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.