It is a dozen years since I bought my house in Birmingham. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I can't track down the deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they could be archived with the lawyers who acted in your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Birmingham relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
We are buying a flat in Birmingham. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we will need to send funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Birmingham. Do I collect the keys to the premises on completion from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the owner’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be able to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.
How can we know in advance if a Birmingham conveyancing solicitor on the Bank of Ireland panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Birmingham getting recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing.
What will a local search inform me regarding the house my wife and I purchasing in Birmingham?
Birmingham conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for instance Searchflow The local search is essential in every Birmingham conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search should reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic areas.
How does conveyancing in Birmingham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Birmingham contact us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because developers in Birmingham usually acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Birmingham or who has acted in the same development.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Birmingham ahead of appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks will not grant a mortgage on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Birmingham. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Birmingham. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.
If the lease is registered - and most are in Birmingham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Birmingham - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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Can you inform me if there are any major works in the near future that will increase the maintenance costs? Is there a share of the freehold? What is the the remaining lease term?