Me and my wife are acquiring a maisonette in Brimsdown. My lawyer is not on the mortgage company approved list. Am I still permitted to appoint my Brimsdown conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the mortgage company panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options include
- Carry on with your preferred Brimsdown conveyancing practitioner but your mortgage company will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner from their conveyancing panel. This will result in additional cost and potential interruption.
- Appoint a fresh conveyancer to conduct the conveyancing, making sure they are on the lender conveyancing panel.
- Convince your solicitor to do everything possible to join the lender’s conveyancing panel
I require conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (6 years built) in Brimsdown. The vast majority the appartments are already occupied. Is it strictly necessary to order conveyancing searches as part of conveyancing in Brimsdown?
You would be opening yourself up to an unnecessary risk in not carrying out Brimsdown conveyancing searches. Without searches you have no clarity over flooding, environmental etc which may mean you walk away due to potential problems down the line. If you are buying without a mortgage there is no legal requirement to have them, but we would absolutely advise in the strongest possible terms that your lawyer conducts them. If accelerating the process and cost are top of your issues you should consider with your conveyancer about the viability of search insurance
Can you point me to a directory of HSBC panel solicitors in Brimsdown on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association websites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings available online. Where you are looking for a Brimsdown property lawyer on the HSBC please use our facility.
We had instructed conveyancers with offices in Brimsdown on the Aldermore solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional sum for dealing with the Aldermore mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Aldermore?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your lawyer is entitled to levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Aldermore but by your Brimsdown lawyer. Some firms on the Aldermore panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Brimsdown solicitor having checked that they are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Nottingham will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nottingham will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Brimsdown postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nottingham, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Brimsdown.
Various online forums that I have visited warn that are the main reason for delay in Brimsdown house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Brimsdown.
Should I appoint a Brimsdown conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can deal with the legal formalities but they are based 300kilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Brimsdown conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were content that should trump using an unfamiliar Brimsdown conveyancing solicitor just because they are based in the area.
If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £475,000 flat in Brimsdown in 10 days. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Brimsdown?
Brimsdown conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled to levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Brimsdown. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
if 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 assess the price payable.
An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold matter before the tribunal for a Brimsdown property is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 80.01 years.