Having been referred to your web site we were going to use a conveyancing solicitor in Salford endorsed by you but have come across alternative quotes via the web appear cheaper – how come?
There are a variety of conveyancing outfits marketing at first sight what seems to be cut price. We would urge you to give due consideration about how much you respect your own move to you are willing to take 'cheap' risks concerning the quality of the conveyancing. Many of them accentuate a cheap fee to grab your attention but plant supplemental costs in the small print..
My conveyancer has informed me that lack of planning permission insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Salford?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
Is it the case that all Salford solicitor practices on the HSBC conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the practice would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
Santander have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a flat in Salford has been agreed to, what happens next?
Your estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (be sure the lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Contact Santander or your broker and finalise any appropriate paperwork. Santander will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or owners to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week to get a mortgage offer. Santander will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Salford.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Salford and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a nationwide conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Salford. We have lived in Salford for three years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You must enquire of 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 ailment)
Should I appoint a Salford conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am buying? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal formalities however they are based over three hundred miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Salford conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and they were impressed that should surpass using an unfamiliar Salford conveyancing lawyer just because they are Salford based.
Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Salford. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Salford who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
First make enquiries of the Land Registry 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 Salford conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Salford - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
-
Plenty Salford leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this charge, usually periodically during the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Where a Salford lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have been the owner of the residence for 24 months before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. It would be wise to enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Salford leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Salford. If you like the flatin Salford but your dog can’t live with you then you will be faced difficult choice.
My wife and I are purchasing a first floor flat in Salford. When we first instructed conveyancing practitioner, they assured us that they were on all mainstream lender panels. Our mortgage broker emailed today to advise that they don't seem to be on the Skipton approved list. Were it to be true, what should we do? Should we simply choose a different conveyancing practitioner that is on their approved list or should we pay for separate representation, with Skipton appointing their own preferred solicitor.
If you are acquiring a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser’s solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a property lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the conveyancing practitioner to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the property lawyer has to meet. Some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your lawyer should contact Skipton to find out 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on Skipton's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Salford solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another conveyancing practitioner into the equation.