My property lawyer in Wednesbury has never been on on the Alliance & Leicester Conveyancing Panel. Can I still retain my prefered solicitor even though they are not on the Alliance & Leicester panel?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Wednesbury lawyers but Alliance & Leicester will need to retain a solicitor on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges as well as cause frustration.
- Find an alternative practitioner to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are Alliance & Leicester approved.
- Try to convince your Alliance & Leicester solicitor to attempt to join the Alliance & Leicester panel
Various web forums that I have come across warn that are the main reason for hinderance in Wednesbury house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the top 10 causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Wednesbury.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one near me in Wednesbury I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Wednesbury for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you need a home loan that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Wednesbury. I have stumble upon a site which seems to have the perfect answer If there is a chance to get all formalities done via phone that would be preferable. Do I need to be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Wednesbury. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I own a split level flat in Wednesbury, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Wednesbury with an extended lease are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2095
With just 70 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. 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 want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
My fiance and I yesterday found out that one of the partners of the law firm undertaking the purchase conveyancing in Wednesbury is an uncle of the seller. Is this permitted?
On the basis that there is no conflict of interest this should be fine. If you are obtaining a home loan then the bank may have a say as many banks have specific requirements on this. For example for Halifax as of 2/6/2025, the requirements read as follows :