The Kingswood conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Kingswood have suddenly closed. I chose them because I had to have a lawyer on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and my previous Kingswood lawyer was not. I paid them £170 on account. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to assist.
I have been told by my conveyancer that chancel insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Kingswood?
The right level of chancel indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between Barclays and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.
We previously appointed conveyancers with offices in Kingswood on the Co-operative solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me an additional fee for the legal aspects of the Co-operative mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Co-operative?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer may levy a fee for this. The fee is not set by Co-operative but by your Kingswood solicitor. Some firms on the Co-operative panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some practices include it on their overall fee.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Bank of Ireland. Kingswood conveyancing practitioners have been chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Bank of Ireland?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Bank of Ireland done the survey? Have you advised Bank of Ireland as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I have todaydiscovered that Wolstenholmes have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Kingswood for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I check that the property is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to check if the property is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Kingswood conveyancing specialists.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Kingswood I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Kingswood suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
My partner has encouraged me to use his conveyancers in Kingswood. Should I use them?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Kingswood conveyancing lawyer it’s preferable to select a conveyancing lawyer is to get guidance from friends or relatives who have actually experience in using the firm that you are are thinking of instructing.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Kingswood conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kingswood conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Kingswood conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be helpful:
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What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Kingswood in the last 12 months? What are the legal fees for lease extension work?
I own a 1st floor flat in Kingswood, conveyancing was carried out June 2000. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Kingswood with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2101
You have 76 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.