My best friend’s mother is a property lawyer. I am hopeful that I'll be able to get preferential rates for conveyancing, but if not, what level of fees should I be expecting for conveyancing in Astwood Bank?
It’s prudent to request 3 or more like-for-like conveyancing estimates. Make use of our comparison tool on this site. You will notice that fees may vary but service levels do are distinct between property lawyers as is the case with the vast majority of professional services.
Do I have to visit the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Astwood Bank so that I can attend their offices if necessary.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for banks conduct their work through Royal Mail, internet or over phone calls. This enables them to conduct the legal work for your home move regardless of where you live in the country. Nevertheless you can see if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if just in case this is required.
is it true that all Astwood Bank conveyancing solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Astwood Bank. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £225. Not long after, the conveyancer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the UBS 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 UBS 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.
Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Astwood Bank solicitor - who is on the HSBC conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
HSBC will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually HSBC will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Astwood Bank surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Are there any apps to assist me to locate a Astwood Bank law firm on the Aldermore conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am happy to travel upto 20miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the search on this website. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Astwood Bank conveyancing lawyers locally. We have detailed some Astwood Bank conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can call them to check if they are on the Aldermore approved list
My husband and I are novice buyers - had an offer accepted, but the agent informed us that the vendor will only go ahead if we use their chosen conveyancers as they need a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a family conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in Astwood Bank
We suspect that the owner is not behind this request. If they require ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine buyer is going to damage their objectives. Bypass the agents and go straight to the owners and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are genuine purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you are unencumbered (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to instruct your own,trusted Astwood Bank conveyancing firm - rather thanthe ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a referral fee or meet his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by HQ.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Astwood Bank from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Astwood Bank can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers. A minority of Astwood Bank leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Astwood Bank home move. Where a new share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later. Many landlords or managing agents in Astwood Bank charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Astwood Bank. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.
I inherited a leasehold flat in Astwood Bank, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Astwood Bank with a long lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2085
With just 60 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be 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 placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.