Do conveyancers ask for money on account when it comes to conveyancing in Bedford?
If you are buying a property in Bedford your lawyer will ask you place them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is payable against the total price then this will be needed immediately before contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.
My property lawyer in Bedford has never been on on the Accord Mortgages Ltd Solicitor Panel. Can I still use my prefered solicitor even though they are excluded from the Accord Mortgages Ltd approved list?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Bedford lawyers but Accord Mortgages Ltd will need to instruct a lawyer on their panel. This will result in additional overall legal fees as well as cause delays.
- Find a new practitioner to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are Convince your lawyer to use their best endeavours to join the Accord Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel
Is it correct that all Bedford CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Barclays conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
We had selected conveyancing lawyers based in Bedford on the Aldermore solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a supplemental fee for dealing with the Aldermore mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Aldermore?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor is entitled to charge a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Aldermore but by your Bedford property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Aldermore panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Principality. Is it usual for Principality to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Bedford is approved on their conveyancing panel? Principality have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Principality to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Principality conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Do I need to take out insurance to cover chancel repairs when acquiring a residence in Bedford?
Unless a previous purchase of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you can expect solicitors handling conveyancing in Bedford to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
As co-executor for the estate of my father I am selling a house in Cardiff but live in Bedford. My conveyancer (based 250 kilometers awayhas requested that I sign a statutory declaration before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Bedford who can witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are based in Bedford
I work for a reputable estate agency in Bedford where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Bedford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I acquired a 1st floor flat in Bedford, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Bedford with a long lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2087
With just 62 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £17,100 and £19,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues 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 before seeking the advice of a professional.