How do I search for the right lawyer to provide a first class service for my conveyancing in Victoria?
First ask the people you trust who they used in the past and if they were happy with the service.
Option 2 is to search the internet for conveyancing in Victoria. Ring a couple or more firms listed and invite them to send you their conveyancing fee calculations and speak to the lawyer who will handle your conveyancing in advance ofmaking your choice.
Third is to use this site to help you find the right lawyers for you based on your personal requirements including location,speed, complexity and who your intended mortgage company is. Don't take the bait of £100 conveyancing in Victoria
It is is a decade since I purchased my home in Victoria. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't locate the title documents. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be with your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Victoria involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
We are downsizing from our house in Victoria and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Victoria conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed an internet conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Victoria. Having lived in Victoria for many years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Victoria I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Victoria for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
I need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Victoria for my home move. Can I review a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
You can find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations stemming from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor telephone calls for training reasons.
I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my lease in Victoria. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Victoria.
After years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Victoria. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Victoria property is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 56 years.