My partner and I are planning to acquire a house in Dudley and have instructed a Dudley conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Dudley conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Dudley solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My god-son is buying a new build apartment in Dudley with a home loan from Santander. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Santander conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Santander conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I am a sole trader intending to lease a unit on the high street. Can you recommend solicitors offering competitive costs for commercial conveyancing in Dudley for less than 2k?
We are happy to recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Dudley, including the disposal and purchase of businesses as well as simply property. If you are hoping to buy or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we can find you the right solicitor. Regarding the charges these will vary based on the structure and terms of the proposed transaction. Let us have your contact information or phone so as to enable us to furnish you with a detailed commercial conveyancing quote.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandmother I am selling a residence in Newport but live in Dudley. My conveyancer (who is 300 kilometers from merequires that I execute a statutory declaration before the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Dudley who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Dudley based
Last May I purchased a leasehold property in Dudley. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I own a ground floor flat in Dudley, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Dudley with an extended lease are worth £196,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2090
With 64 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
I previously advised by my mortgage company that their approved solicitors work on no sale no charge basis for conveyancing in Dudley. I had a purchase abort yet the solicitors want search fees! They say the fees are nothing to do with their fees!
Dudley conveyancing search fees are separate expenses not legal fees as these are paid to independent parties.