I am looking for value for money property lawyer. Should I go for for a nationwide conveyancer or a local Winchester conveyancing lawyer?

Winchester is a unique place, where local knowledge is a significant benefit. The relaxed pace of life has an upside – but not when it comes to your house move. The solicitors that we endorse combine deep Winchester insight with a professional, hands-onapproach that helps everything runs smoothly. It is a definite plus that they benefit from established rapport with mortgage brokers, search providers, surveyors and other Winchester conveyancing practices

My Conveyancer in Winchester has never been on on the Birmingham Midshires Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Birmingham Midshires list of approved lawyers?

The limited options open to you here include:

1. Carry on with your preferred Winchester lawyers but Birmingham Midshires will need to retain a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the overall conveyancing fees and cause frustration.
2. Choose a new lawyer to act in the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are on the Birmingham Midshires panel

I'm purchasing a new build house in Winchester benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it could adversely affect my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Winchester with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Winchester can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Winchester home move. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Winchester state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Winchester - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Who manages the building? It would be sensible to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Winchester leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Winchester. If you like the apartmentin Winchester but your dog can’t move with you then you have a very hard determination. For most Winchester leaseholds the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Winchester ask tenants to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

Been looking for a property lawyer for freehold sale conveyancing in Winchester. I'm selling, uncomplicated no mortgage to redeem, no rush, currently vacant. Got a quote from a lawyer for £900 plus VAT which is a tad expensive given that its so straightforward. Can I pay less for conveyancing in Winchester?

As it’s a sale only, £450 + VAT is likely to be about the best for sale conveyancing in Winchester.