What is the best way to find out if the solicitor handling my conveyancing in Birmingham is on the bank’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Barclays thus spending £175.00 in another set of legal charges.

Feel free to make the most of the find a lender approved solicitor tool on this site. Please choose the lender and type ‘Birmingham’ or your location and you will discover numerous conveyancers located in Birmingham or nearest you.

I have recentlydiscovered that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Birmingham for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I check that the property is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest method to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Birmingham conveyancing specialists.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Birmingham prior to appointing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend not grant a mortgage on a flying freehold house.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Birmingham. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Birmingham especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Birmingham.

How do I use the search facility to choose a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham on the authorised to act for my mortgage?

Step one is to select a bank such as Birmingham Midshires, The Mortgage Works or Godiva Mortgages Ltd then specify your location e.g. Birmingham. Conveyancing firms in Birmingham and nationally will then be shown.

What makes a Birmingham lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Birmingham is not unique. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Virgin Money, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Birmingham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? What is the name of the managing agents? Plenty Birmingham leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the freeholder. Should you acquire the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally periodically throughout the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive.