Just been in touch with my conveyancing solicitor in Windsor who conducted the legals two years ago asking for a conveyancing estimate based on an identical type of home move (a leasehold property and a freehold premises) of similar values with a home loan from Yorkshire Building Society. I am now being charged twice the amount. Am I right to be tempted to shop around for an alternative conveyancer?
The estimate fees seem a little high. If you you were to look around you could trim some of the expense by say £100 plus VAT. That being said, if you were satisfied with the legal work the firm offered you maylive to regret choosing an an untested solicitor. Don't forget to enquire that the firm can also act for Yorkshire Building Society. You can use our search tool to locate a Windsor conveyancing firm on the Yorkshire Building Society approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Windsor.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in Windsor. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been appointed on the sale but I am unable to track down the title deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be with your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Windsor involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a online directory to list practices on the Earl Shilton BS conveyancing panel for example in Windsor?
We would not expect to be advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a tool.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Windsor. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Windsor who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Windsor conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I own a leasehold flat in Windsor, conveyancing formalities finalised April 1996. 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? Equivalent flats in Windsor with a long lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2095
With 70 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
To what extent are Windsor conveyancing solicitors duty bound by the Law Society to publish transparent conveyancing costs?
Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are set rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not to be regarded as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, however, represent the Law Society’s perspective of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Windsor or beyond.