I was referred a solicitor who has quoted £1350 for leasehold conveyancing in Burford. I am looking to sell a purpose built detached home for £175,000. Are these conveyancing fees excessive? Is it in excess of what I should be paying for conveyancing in Burford?
The charges are a bit high. Where you are prepared to spend time scrutinising fee on a like for like basis you might trim some of the expense by perhaps £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, you mightlive to regret opting for an an unknown lawyer. Don't forget to be sure the conveyancer can act for your bank. You can use our comparison tool to select a Burford conveyancing practice on the lender’s approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Burford.
My partner and I are getting closer to an exchange on a house in Burford and my parents have sent the exchange deposit to my solicitor. I am now informed that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my conveyancing practitioner needs to make a notification to my mortgage company. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I advised the mortgage company concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for this now to be an issue?
Your lawyer is duty bound to check with lender to make sure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. Your solicitor can only notify this to your mortgage company if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
I own a freehold property in Burford yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Burford and has limited impact for conveyancing in Burford 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 new rentcharges post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.
Me and my partner are buying a flat in Burford. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we have to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
My uncle informed me that in purchasing a property in Burford there may be a number of restrictions prohibiting external alterations to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Burford which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Burford should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We had chosen conveyancers based in Burford on the Virgin Money solicitor panel. They are now charging me a further amount for handling the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Virgin Money?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor is entitled to charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Virgin Money but by your Burford lawyer. Numerous firms on the Virgin Money panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
3 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Burford concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I'm buying my first flat in Burford benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about the extras as it could adversely affect my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.