My fiance and I are looking to acquire a house in Chelmsley Wood and have appointed a Chelmsley Wood conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Chelmsley Wood conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Chelmsley Wood solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My fiancee and I are buying our first property. The conveyancer has texted usto check if we would like to order additional conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's recommended for conveyancing in Chelmsley Wood
The quantity and type of Chelmsley Wood conveyancing searches depends primarily on the property, the location, the probability of any of these risks, your knowledge of the area and risks, your overall appetite to risk. What is important is that you adequately comprehend what information the searches could supply. Then you can decide if you consider that you need that information. Where you are in doubt, ask the conveyancing practitioner to provide guidance.
My grandfather passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Chelmsley Wood. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Skipton, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you plan to refinance then Skipton will require that you use a conveyancer on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Skipton mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Chelmsley Wood
Two types of professional can perform conveyancing in Chelmsley Wood namely licenced conveyancers or solicitors. Both professionals handle conveyancing services that you need to complete the sale or purchase of property. Both are obliged to execute Chelmsley Wood conveyancing to the same standards and guidelines so you can be safe in the knowledge that your conveyancing will be professionally carried out and that all requirements and steps should be correctly attended to.
I am helping my niece sell her flat in Chelmsley Wood. Will the solicitor arrange an EPC or it is for the seller to coordinate?
Following the demise of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates was left as a mandatory component of moving property. An EPC should be commissioned prior to the property being put on the market. This is not something that lawyers normally organise. If you are instructing a Chelmsley Wood conveyancing solicitor they might help arrange energy assessments given their contacts with reputable local providers
When it comes to mortgage companies such as UBS, do Chelmsley Wood conveyancing practitioners incur an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Chelmsley Wood. I now require my papers but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Chelmsley Wood of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Chelmsley Wood conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?
If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Chelmsley Wood conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Chelmsley Wood conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be useful:
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How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation? How many lease extensions have they conducted in Chelmsley Wood in the last 12 months?
I own a 1 bedroom flat in Chelmsley Wood, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Chelmsley Wood with a long lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2083
With just 58 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £22,800 and £26,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.