My best friend’s step-father is a solicitor. I suspect that I'll be able to get mate’s rates for conveyancing, However if that does not come materialise, what kind of costs would I typically be looking at for conveyancing in Biddulph?
You should contrast pricing. Make use of our search tool on this page. The estimates may be different but service levels do differ between property lawyers as is true with most professions.
My grandmother passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Biddulph. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nationwide, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Nationwide will require that you use a conveyancer on the Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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 Nationwide mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
My aunt informed me that in purchasing a property in Biddulph there could be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Biddulph which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Biddulph should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Biddulph. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £225. Not long after, the conveyancing practitioner called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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 it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Biddulph solicitor - who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS 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. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Biddulph postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Biddulph.
A relative suggested that if I am purchasing in Biddulph I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Biddulph conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Biddulph around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Biddulph.
The deeds to my house are lost. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Biddulph 5 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?
In today’s world there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your conveyancer should know exactly where to look for all the appropriate documentation so you can purchase or dispose of your property without any difficulty. Where copies are not available, your solicitor can arrange cover in the form of insurance or indemnities against possible claims on the property.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Biddulph I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Biddulph for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage that many years will be problematic. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.