The solicitor who assisted with my previous purchase has sent a quote for just over a thousand pound for freehold conveyancing in Bloxwich. I’m selling a purpose built house for £275,000. Are these estimated fees excessive? Is it above what I should be paying for conveyancing in Bloxwich?

The charges are a little high. If you are prepared to spend time contrasting charges you may be able to reduce the fees slightly by perhaps a hundred pounds. That being said, you maycome to regret choosing an an untested solicitor. Remember to be sure the conveyancer can act for your lender. You can make use of our comparison tool to select a Bloxwich conveyancing firm on the banks member panel which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Bloxwich.

What does a local search reveal regarding the property my wife and I purchasing in Bloxwich?

Bloxwich conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company such as Xpress Legal The local search is essential in every Bloxwich conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject areas.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years past for my conveyancing in Bloxwich. Now, I need my documents however the law firm has closed. What do I do?

Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Bloxwich of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

How does conveyancing in Bloxwich differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Bloxwich approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because developers in Bloxwich typically purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Bloxwich or who has acted in the same development.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Bloxwich where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bloxwich conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bloxwich - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Please note that where the lease has less than eighty years it will impact the salability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are happy with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease. Many Bloxwich leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically accross the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is due in the near future that will be shared by the tenants and could well materially increase the the maintenance charges or result in a one time payment.