I was recommended to a conveyancer who has sent a quote for £1150 for fixed fee conveyancing in Cippenham. I am hoping to downsize from a Georgian house for £125,000. This sounds expensive. Is it above what I should be paying for conveyancing in Cippenham?
The costs illustration is fractionally on the high side. If you are willing to expend time contrasting costs you could shave off some of the cost by perhaps £125. That being said, you maylive to rue choosing an an unknown solicitor. If is important to check that the solicitor can also act for your mortgage company. You can employ our comparison tool to find a Cippenham conveyancing practice on the banks approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Cippenham.
is it true that all Cippenham conveyancing solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the HSBC approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
It is not clear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Cippenham building society branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Cippenham conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend based on their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 requirements for your bank. 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 remaining.
Virgin Money have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a apartment in Cippenham has been agreed to, now what?
The estate agent will want to be informed of your property lawyer's details (ensure that the lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Call up Virgin Money or the broker and finish off any outstanding forms. Virgin Money will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to arrange an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately ten days to receive the mortgage offer. Virgin Money will issue the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Cippenham.
Me and my brother have a renovated Georgian property in Cippenham. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Clydesdale. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Cippenham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I have been advised by a number of estate agents in Cippenham to locate a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your site ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to give any referral fee for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
Is it best to use a Cippenham conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can conduct the conveyancing however his firm is located a couple of hundredmiles away.
The primary upside of using a high street Cippenham conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign documents, present your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local Cippenham know how is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and the majority were happy that should trump using an unfamiliar Cippenham conveyancing solicitor just because they are round the corner.
One month into buying a residence in Cippenham. Conveyancing lawyer has called to say the title is "Leasehold". Should this impact our mortgage valuation?
Cippenham conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The key factor here is the remaining lease term and the ground rent. If there are over a hundred years remaining with a nominal rent, it's almost the same as freehold, so it’s unlikely to affect the marketability significantly.
At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, 50 years it will have a material impact on the value, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the mortgage company. The length of lease and ground rent will be set out in the lease which should be made available to your solicitor.