We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients and in these uncertain times we are having to look at how the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus could impact you as our clients and our business. We have reviewed industry guidance on this matter and there appear to be several areas which have the potential to be affected and these are as follows:
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requests for properties to be decontaminated
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refusal to vacate on completion because seller in isolation
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failure or disruption to parts of the banking system (such as CHAPS)
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inability to obtain search results if people are not available to carry out the searches
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reluctance on the part of removal company employees to enter properties
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difficulties in obtaining witnesses
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issues in mortgage lending survey physical valuations
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law firms being short staffed or closing
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lenders requesting mortgage funds back if completion is only likely to be delayed for few days
We will be making every effort to exchange contracts on a ‘business as usual’ basis and will be assessing each case individually. If completion does not take place after contracts have been exchanged due to COVID-19, the parties not completing will be in default and will incur a penalty. We will do everything to prevent this happening to our clients but can offer no guarantee that it won’t.
One option available to us is to carry out simultaneous exchange and completions on cases, however we are aware that this does leave both buyers and sellers’ vulnerable until exchange and completion takes place and again we shall assess each transaction individually to see if this method suits.
As a very small business we are taking a pragmatic approach to the care of our staff’s health and wellbeing as well as our clients. To achieve this aim from immediate effect we are asking our clients NOT TO ATTEND THE OFFICE WITHOUT A PRIOR APPOINTMENT. If you do turn up unannounced, we will not be allowing you access to the building. We will only be making appointments where absolutely critical preferring instead to do everything by post.
We will be operating ‘business as usual’ during this period of uncertainty. Our systems are such that we can operate remotely from home as all these are cloud based, should there become a need for any staff members to self-isolate.
We have chosen to take these measures in order to minimise the impact to your transaction, to you as our client and to our staff but want to reassure you that for now it is business as usual and any changes to our plans will be posted on both our Website and Facebook pages and included in any mailings out to individual clients.
At Vanessa Newman Property Lawyers we offer a modern approach to conveyancing with old fashioned principles to make your move stress free and as quick as possible. We aim to complete on a freehold sale with a mortgage to redeem and no chain within 5-6 weeks and a freehold purchase with mortgage and no chain in about 8 weeks.
We are regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers which means you can be assured that the service we provide is of a high standard.
If you make a valid claim against us for a loss arising out of work for which we are legally responsible, and we are unable to meet our liability in full, you may be entitled to claim from the Compensation Fund administered by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
Click on the link for more information.
We understand that life goes on whilst buying a home and so we can offer you appointments out of hours or in your own home so that the disruption to your life is minimal. We also offer a transparent pricing system with no hidden extras and our fees start at £500 for a freehold sale and £550 for a freehold purchase increasing dependent upon price and transaction.
WARNING - CYBER FRAUD is a real risk, specifically affecting email accounts and bank account details which can be intercepted and modified. We will NEVER change or provide our bank details by email.