When does exchange of contracts occur in purchase conveyancing in Birmingham and am I required to be at the lawyers branch?

Where you are in close proximity to our conveyancing solicitors in Birmingham you are invited in to sign contracts. However, the law practices we work with provide a national conveyancing service and provide just as detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The signing of the contract is not the important part. A signed contract simply enables the firm to officially exchange at the suitable time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

I am buying a terraced house in Birmingham. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Birmingham you will have to appoint a solicitor on your mortgage company's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Birmingham.

My wife and I own a renovated Edwardian property in Birmingham. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Coventry Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Birmingham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.

Given that I will soon part with over three hundred thousand on a property in Birmingham I would like to talk to a conveyancer about myhome move prior to appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the conveyancer who will be doing your conveyancing in Birmingham.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a matter number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for your conveyancing in Birmingham should be the figure that you end up paying.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Birmingham. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have recently had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as usual as all rents and service invoices 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 unless 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.

Birmingham Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

You will want to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they can either make living at the property much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people if they are happy with them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. How many years remain on the lease? Is there a share of the freehold?