My wife and I are planning to purchase a flat in Pentre and have appointed a Pentre conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Birmingham Midshires have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Pentre lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Pentre solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Pentre
Two types of professional can perform conveyancing in Pentre namely licenced conveyancers or solicitors. The two can handle conveyancing services that required to complete the sale or purchase of property. Both are duty bound to carry out Pentre conveyancing to the same quality and guidelines so you can be safe in the knowledge that your conveyancing will be properly carried out and that all necessary procedures should be accurately followed.
Is it the case that all Pentre conveyancing solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be governed by the CLC.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Pentre. I have a mortgage offer with Clydesdale. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Pentre and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Pentre lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed an online conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Pentre. We have lived in Pentre for 5 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You need to check with 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 health insurance to cover that same sickness)
Is it simple use your search facility to choose a conveyancing lawyer in Pentre on the authorised to act for my lender?
1st pick a lender such as Birmingham Midshires, Skipton Building Society or Nottingham Building Society then specify your location e.g. Pentre. Conveyancing organisations in Pentre and nationally will then be listed.
All being well we will complete the disposal of our £425,000 flat in Pentre next Tuesday. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Pentre?
Pentre conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty to charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.
I purchased a garden flat in Pentre, conveyancing was carried out in 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Pentre with a long lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2104
With just 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.