At long last a mortgage agreement from NatWest for the refinancing of my single bedroom garden flat is coming by the end of next week. Could you suggest a cheap conveyancing lawyer in Portland?
You are on the wrong site if you are in need of cut-price fees for conveyancing solicitors in Portland. We can offer you affordable conveyancing but our intention is not to advertise as being the cheapest. Avoid the trap of appointing companies enticing you with £99 conveyancing in Portland. In your best case scenario, in being led by low cost conveyancing, you will get your money’s worth and at worst it will result in you paying a lot in additional fees and still not receive the service required.
Will lawyers ask for money up-front for conveyancing in Portland?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Portland your lawyer will request that you put them with monies to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is as part of the total price then this should be asked for immediately in advance of exchange of contracts. The final balance that is needed will be payable a few days ahead of the completion date.
What happens if my solicitor is removed from the HSBC Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Portland?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. 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 at a cost.
We had appointed solicitors based in Portland on the Barclays solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a supplemental fee for dealing with the Barclays mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Barclays?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer can levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by Barclays but by your Portland property lawyer. Some firms on the Barclays panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of practices include it on their overall fee.
My partner and I are in the throws of viewing apartments in Portland and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a mortgage with Principality.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Principality, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Principality conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have paid off my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Portland property lawyer on the Aldermore panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
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
What can a local search tell me about the house we're buying in Portland?
Portland conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations such as PSG The local search plays a central part in most Portland conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (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 thirteen topic sections.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Portland is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in Portland are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Portland you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Portland may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.