My previous conveyancer has given a fee estimate £1200 for freehold conveyancing in Buckley. I am looking to sell a purpose built property for £125,000. Are these estimated fees excessive? Is it above what I should be paying for conveyancing in Buckley?
The quote is slightly on the expensive side. Where you are prepared to expend time contrasting fee on a like for like basis you could decrease the fees slightly by as much as a hundred pounds. On the other hand, you mightlive to regret opting for an a cheaper lawyer. If is important to check the solicitor can represent your mortgage company. You can employ our search tool to find a Buckley conveyancing firm on the banks approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Buckley.
As I am unsure how the conveyancing process works what is the most important advice you can impart regarding purchase conveyancing in Buckley?
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Buckley and elsewhere in England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the house moving process. E.g., the seller, property agent and even potentially a mortgage company. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Buckley is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the legal process whose role it is to look after your best interests and to keep you safe.
Every so often a third party with a vested interest will attempt to convince you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your lawyer is wrong. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do something that is contrary to your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
What happens if my solicitor is removed from the UBS Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Buckley?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
We previously appointed conveyancers based in Buckley on the Leeds Building Society solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a supplemental fee for handling the Leeds Building Society mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Leeds Building Society?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancer can levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by Leeds Building Society but by your Buckley lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Leeds Building Society panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Buckley property lawyer on the Aldermore panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Aldermore mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Aldermore mortgage from the register. Aldermore, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Aldermore has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Aldermore has instructed the Land Registry to do so
It is unclear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Buckley bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Buckley conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they would not lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I have no idea who is right.
The lawyer has to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 provisions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I am looking at a two maisonettes in Buckley which have approximately 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are plenty of short leases in Buckley. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area.
I acquired a leasehold flat in Buckley, conveyancing formalities finalised January 2002. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Buckley with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2099
With just 75 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
The figure 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 due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
My 20yr old son is about to join the property ladder, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. One the offer was accepted on flat we called the bank to progress the mortgage application. We were disappointed to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all lawyer, they must be on their panel, is this legal?
Mortgage Companies ordinarily restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Buckley property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.