Recently contacted my conveyancing solicitor in Acocks Green who acted for me 18 months ago requesting a conveyancing costs illustration based on an identical type of house move (a leasehold premises and a freehold property) of similar values with a home loan from Skipton Building Society. I am now being quoted twice the amount. Stick with what I know or should I seek out a cheaper online firm of conveyancing solicitor?

The quote is slightly on the steep side. If you are happy to expend time contrasting costs you may be able to decrease the fees slightly by say £125. That being said, providing that you were happy with the legal work the firm gave you maycome to rue choosing an a cheaper conveyancer. Remember to be sure that the solicitor can represent Skipton Building Society. You can make use of our search tool to find a Acocks Green conveyancing firm on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Acocks Green.

My husband and I are refinancing our flat in Acocks Green with Coventry BS. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Coventry BS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?

On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Coventry BS. This is solely used to protect Coventry BS if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Coventry BS had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Acocks Green I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Acocks Green for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Acocks Green. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and maintenance charges will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Acocks Green Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is anticipated to be shared amongst the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the service fees or necessitate a specific payment. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Acocks Green obliged tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.

Our conveyancer in Acocks Green has discovered a defect with the lease for the property we are buying in Acocks Green. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the lender conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?

Just because you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will be meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your Acocks Green conveyancing lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirements. You and the lender are the client. The appropriate lender requirements must be adhered to by the bank conveyancing panel who has to balance acting for you and the bank