Having been suggested to visit your service we were about to go ahead with a conveyancing solicitor in Cotham found using your search tool but stumbled across some other fee calculations on the internet appear less pricey – why is this?

There are numerous conveyancers offering what appear to be cut price. We would encourage you to give due consideration about how important this transaction is to you that you are willing to be penny wise pound foolish with regard to the quality of the conveyancing. Many of them highlight a cheap fee to catch your eye but bury supplemental costs in the small print..

My flat in Cotham is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Does my lawyer need to be required to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently in recent years.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Cotham and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Cotham. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Cotham area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Cotham. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Cotham. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Cotham who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Cotham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Cotham, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Cotham with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098

With only 72 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

We have an offer in principle from Nationwide Building Society who said that they will lend up to £218k. At what point do I need to instruct a lawyer for conveyancing? Cotham is where we are purchasing.

You can instruct a conveyancing practitioner now and ask them to create a file for you. This will enable: 1) the estate agent to issue a Sales Memorandum to the relevant parties 2) the seller’s lawyer to submit the draft paperwork. However, do not ask your lawyer to order searches until you receive your valuation report from Nationwide Building Society and you are content to move forward.