What is your number one tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Victoria
Do not opt for the cheapest Victoria conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.
This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a 1st time buyer of a garden flat in Victoria. Do I collect the keys to the premises on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Victoria?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be called to collect the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Victoria. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
A colleague suggested that where I am buying in Victoria I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Victoria conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Victoria around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Victoria Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Victoria.
I used Stirling Law several years ago for my conveyancing in Victoria. I now require my file however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Victoria of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Victoria prior to instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some lenders may not grant a loan on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with 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 Victoria. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Victoria especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Victoria.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Victoria. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Victoria.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in Victoria. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Victoria flat is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 56 years.
Living abroad it is not practicable to visit my Victoria conveyancing solicitors office to execute documents connected to my conveyancing in Victoria – is this a problem?
No. Victoria conveyancing solicitors can conduct conveyancing transactions for clients throughout the rest of the country. It is not necessary for you to be able to be present a Victoria conveyancers office. They can deal with all communications remotely from their Victoria office.