My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a home in Birmingham and are in fact using a Birmingham conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Leeds Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Birmingham conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Birmingham solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our maisonette in Birmingham with Skipton. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Skipton. This is solely used to protect Skipton if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Skipton had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I own a freehold residence in Birmingham but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Birmingham and has limited impact for conveyancing in Birmingham but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be extinguished.
Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal impending roadworks that may affect a commercial land in Birmingham?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Birmingham will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Birmingham. The search result provides definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Birmingham.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Birmingham it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately could cause delays to Birmingham commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Birmingham.
Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Birmingham. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?
First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Birmingham conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I invested in buying a basement flat in Birmingham, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1998. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Birmingham with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2097
With 72 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
My fiance and I are searching for an affordable conveyancing lawyer in Birmingham to assist me in selling my home. I really don't want to get ripped off and there's plenty Birmingham conveyancing solicitors out there...who's the best?
The best tip when searching for a Birmingham conveyancer is listen to the advice from family or other professionals that you trust. You are sure to know someone who has used a conveyancing lawyer at some point. Feel free to make use of our tool to compare Birmingham conveyancing quotes