When it comes to lenders such as Leeds Building Society, do Acton conveyancing practitioners have to pay a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We had selected conveyancing lawyers with offices in Acton on the Nottingham solicitor panel. They have just billed me a separate charge for the legal aspects of the Nottingham mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Nottingham?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your property lawyer may charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Nottingham but by your Acton property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Nottingham panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
After what seems like an age I have had an offer on an apartment in Acton accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on on an apartment, however it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other properties booked. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Acton. What should be my next step? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with UBS?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Acton conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the UBS approved list. Concerning the next stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot market the majority of buyers will apply for a home loan with UBS and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their lawyer to proceed with searches.
Various internet forums that I have come across warn that are the main cause of obstruction in Acton conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Acton.
I used Stirling Law several years past for my conveyancing in Acton. Now, I need the files but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Acton of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Acton prior to appointing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to give a loan on such a property.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can look into this further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Acton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Acton with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Acton can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Acton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Acton. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved. Some Acton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
Following years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Acton. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Acton property is 4 Woodhurst Road in July 2013. The Tribunals valuation for the premium to be paid in respect of the collective enfranchisement was £51,050. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 63.75 years.
Me and my partner are buying a leasehold apartment in Acton. Conveyancing quotes are averaging around £1800. Is that in the right ballpark?
The average cost last year for conveyancing in Acton was £1,395 not including Stamp Duty and Land Registry fees.