We were about to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in St John's Wood endorsed by you but stumbled across some other estimates on the internet appear less pricey – how come?
One can find numerous conveyancers offering what appear to be cut price. We suggest that you think long and hard as to how important this transaction is to you that you are willing to be penny wise pound foolish concerning the quality of the legal work. Many of them list a low fee to entice you but conceal additional charges in the fine print..
AssumingI were to acquire a freehold housein St John's Wood for cash and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much should I expect to to save on my conveyancing in St John's Wood?
Any savings you would gain would be isolated to the costs for searches. A conveyancing practitioner is obliged to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, communicating with your sellers property lawyer, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a mortgage however it won't be meaningful.
It is a dozen years since I bought my house in St John's Wood. Conveyancing solicitors have just been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find the title documents. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be retained by the lender or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in St John's Wood involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
We expect to receive a OIP from UBS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do UBS recommend any St John's Wood solicitors on the UBS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint St John's Wood solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the UBS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and UBS through the process.
Planning on purchasing a maisonette in St John's Wood. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the St John's Wood solicitor is on the HSBC conveyancing panel.
I had an offer accepted on an apartment in St John's Wood on 10/1/2025, valuation was booked 4 days after, all came back fine. Solicitor instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Bank of Ireland and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Are Bank of Ireland entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in St John's Wood. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood
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The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please supply a car parking plan. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. St John's Wood is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in St John's Wood are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in St John's Wood you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St John's Wood may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.