My wife and I are looking to buy a flat in Aston and have appointed a Aston conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Aston lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Aston lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
4 months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Aston completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Aston prior to instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Aston. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Aston especially if they are familiar with such properties in Aston.
Am I better off to instruct a Aston conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am buying? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal work but her office is 300kilometers away.
The benefit of a high street Aston conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and in the main were impressed that must surpass using an unknown Aston conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.
What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Aston conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Aston conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Aston conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be useful:
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If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
I invested in buying a garden flat in Aston, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Aston with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082
With 59 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns 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 before getting professional advice.
What is the reason for new build conveyancing in Aston being more expensive?
Buying a new build premises is completely distinct from the standard house buying conveyancing in Aston. For a start sellers usually demand contracts to exchange very quickly, the result being a lot of pressure on your conveyancer to ensure everything is in order. Furthermore new build premises often involve examination of adoption of highways, drains, planning considerations, building warranties or architects certificates. Lenders requirements are also more demanding. Given the complex nature of the process for these types of properties, the conveyancing new build fees are higher than normal.