Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in March?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in March your lawyer will request that you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is payable against the total price then this will be required immediately before contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is due will be payable shortly before completion.

My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in March. I I am struggling to find out if they are on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel. Can you help?

The first thing you should do is e-mail your solicitor and enquire if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively please get in touch with Birmingham Midshires who may be able to help.

My wife and I are purchasing a apartment in March. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? On the day of competition we will need to send our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I am being advised by my solicitor that lack of right of way insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for March conveyancing?

The appropriate level of lack of right of way indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.

We expect to receive a DIP from Co-operative this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Co-operative recommend any March solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint March solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Co-operative through the process.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in March?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in March. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Completion is due on our sale of a £175,000 maisonette in March next Monday. The management company has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in March?

For the majority of leasehold sales in March conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Answering pre-contract questions Where consent is required before sale in March Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for March leasehold premises is £350. For March conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

I purchased a ground floor flat in March, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2006. 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? Similar properties in March with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2075

With only 53 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £27,600 and £31,800 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.