Just been in touch with my conveyancing lawyer in Hereford who acted for me two years ago asking for a conveyancing estimate based on the same type of house sale & purchase (a leasehold property and a freehold property) of similar values with a mortgage from Leeds Building Society. It looks as though am now being charged double. Am I right to be tempted to shop around for a cheaper online property lawyer?
The estimate fees are a tad high. If you shop around you might get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by say £125. On the other hand, providing that you were content with the conveyancing the firm gave you maylive to rue choosing an an unknown solicitor. Remember to check the conveyancer can act for Leeds Building Society. You can use our search tool to select a Hereford conveyancing firm on the Leeds Building Society member panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Hereford.
My lawyer in Hereford is not listed on the Nottingham Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Can I still continue with my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Nottingham Building Society approved list?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Hereford solicitors but Nottingham Building Society will need to retain a conveyancer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the total legal fees and cause frustration.
- Choose a new practitioner to to deal with the purchase, obviously checking they are Convince your lawyer to do everything within their powers to join the Nottingham Building Society conveyancing panel
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Hereford and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers used an internet conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Hereford. We have lived in Hereford for 4 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
My wife and I purchased a renovated Georgian property in Hereford. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and HSBC Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Hereford and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Hereford before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor has said that some lenders will not issue a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you call us we can investigate further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Hereford. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hereford with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hereford can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers. Some Hereford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Hereford conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
I acquired a basement flat in Hereford, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Hereford with a long lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2103
With 78 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.