I am searching for value for money conveyancer. Should I go for for a nationwide conveyancer or a high street Richmond Upon Thames conveyancing lawyer?

In the main conveyancing solicitors in your area will benefit from excellent connections with your local authority, which could help with the Richmond Upon Thames conveyancing searches that your lawyer will require. It also helps if they have strong relationships with the Local Land Registry Office your area Richmond Upon Thames, other lawyers in the area and Richmond Upon Thames property agents.

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Richmond Upon Thames? What am I being asked for?

You are right in the requirement set out by your solicitor has nothing to do with conveyancing in Richmond Upon Thames. However these days you can not complete any conveyancing transaction in the absence submitting evidence of your identity. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence plus a bank statement. Please note that if you are providing your driving licence as proof of ID it needs to be both the paper element and photo card part, one is not sufficient in the absence of the other.

Evidence of the source of funds is mandated in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. Don’t be offended when when this is requested of you as your lawyer will need to retain this information on file. Your Richmond Upon Thames conveyancing practitioner will need to see evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any monies from you into their client account and they may also ask additional queries concerning the origin of monies.

I just acquired a house at auction in Richmond Upon Thames. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?

Given that you are now exchanged you will need to choose a conveyancing practitioner as a matter of priority as you are faced with a tight deadline in which to complete the property. An auction property will have an associated legal pack. This should include evidence of title and search results. In the case of leasehold premises the legal papers may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You must give this to the solicitor working for you ASAP. You also need to ensure that your finances are in place to complete on the date specified in the contract.

is it true that all Richmond Upon Thames solicitor practices on the Nottingham conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Richmond Upon Thames solicitor - who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Richmond Upon Thames surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Richmond Upon Thames before retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks will not give a loan on such a property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Richmond Upon Thames. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Richmond Upon Thames to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Richmond Upon Thames. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I own a leasehold flat in Richmond Upon Thames, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Richmond Upon Thames with a long lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2088

With only 63 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as 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 without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.