The Brixworth conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my purchase in Brixworth have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a solicitor on the conveyancing panel and my preferred Brixworth lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT in advance. What are my options?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to assist.

I have todaybeen informed that Stirling Law have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Brixworth for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I establish that the property is in my name in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest method to check if the property is registered to you, 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 Brixworth conveyancing specialists.

Do I need to be suspicious about brokers that I am dealing with are suggesting an online conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Brixworth conveyancing company?

As with lots of professional services, often referrals from family and friends can be extremely useful or valuable. But there are lots of players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks may recommend lawyers to instruct. Sometimes the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there might be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the right to select your own conveyancer. You need to be aware that many lenders operate an approved list of solicitors you are obliged to use for the mortgage related work in your conveyancing.

I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for residential conveyancing in Brixworth. I have stumble across a site which looks to be the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all formalities completed via web that would be ideal. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Brixworth ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Brixworth conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Brixworth do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Brixworth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Most Brixworth leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the management company. Where you acquire the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically throughout the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Who manages the building?