Would the conveyancing solicitors listed on your site handle conveyancing in Birmingham by way of an attended exchange?
There are a few conveyancing specialists who can conduct one day exchanges. Do e-mail us to get a conveyancing quote and details as to dates.
We were going to get a OIP from TSB this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do TSB recommend any Birmingham solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Birmingham solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the TSB conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and TSB through the process.
My wife and I are in the process of viewing flats in Birmingham and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a mortgage with Virgin Money.
It would be advisable to start your search sooner rather than later. 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 selling agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have paid off my mortgage with Nottingham. I assume I don't need a Birmingham conveyancer on the Nottingham panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Nottingham 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 Nottingham mortgage from the register. Nottingham, 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 Nottingham has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Nottingham has instructed the Land Registry to do so
My colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Birmingham I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Birmingham conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Birmingham around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Birmingham.
I am buying my first flat in Birmingham with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my lawyer about this extras as it would impact my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Should I be wary that estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Birmingham conveyancing practice?
As is the case with lots of professional services, often referrals from relatives can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are numerous people with a keen interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks may put forward conveyancers to choose. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there exists a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to choose your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that many lenders specify a panel list of law firms you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your conveyancing.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Birmingham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I acquired a ground floor flat in Birmingham, conveyancing formalities finalised December 2011. 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? Comparable flats in Birmingham with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2095
With just 69 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.