Is there a reason to instruct a Highnam conveyancing solicitors firm when web based alternatives are so much cheaper?
To take your time to find compare conveyancing costs in Highnam and you should seek a reasonable quote but don’t be focused with searching for the lowest priced Highnam conveyancer. Identifying the right conveyancer can be the difference between a seamless and a stressful home move. It is important that you ensure that you have expert advice from a trusted lawyer. An e-mail can never take the place of a phone call and can never replicate a face to face consultation. Our partner firms will allocate you a qualified and top rated conveyancing solicitor that will handle your conveyancing from start to finish, providing a level of personalised service that you will never get with an internet conveyancer. Our lawyers will keep you updated on any developments making sure that you are ensuring that you are updated at regular intervals. If you ever need to call the office you will be sure who you need to speak to and they will endeavour to make sure that you are in the know.
Can you help? My Highnam lawyer is advising me that he is legally obliged toconduct Highnam conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Virgin Moneyconveyancing panel. Is this really necessary?
You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a home loan with a lender your conveyancer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancing practitioner would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Highnam conveyancing searches.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Nationwide, do Highnam solicitors have to pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with RBS. I assume I don't need a Highnam conveyancer on the RBS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your RBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the RBS mortgage from the register. RBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Highnam on 26/6/2026, valuation was booked 4 days later, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Barclays and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Are Barclays entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Barclays to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Me and my brother own a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Highnam. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Birmingham Midshires. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to read 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Highnam and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Highnam before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some lenders will not issue a mortgage on such a house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Highnam. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Highnam especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Highnam.
I work for a busy estate agent office in Highnam where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Highnam conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I own a split level flat in Highnam, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Highnam with an extended lease are worth £171,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2105
With only 79 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range 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 investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.