Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham even if I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for instance where I wish to acquire a shop in Birmingham with a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank?
The service is primarily there to locate domestic conveyancing solicitors in Birmingham but we have listed towards the end of this page some Birmingham commercial conveyancing firms. You should speak with the company directly to check if they can also act for Lloyds TSB Bank
We previously appointed conveyancers located in Birmingham on the Clydesdale solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional fee for the legal aspects of the Clydesdale mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Clydesdale?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor may levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Clydesdale but by your Birmingham lawyer. Numerous firms on the Clydesdale panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many firms include it on their overall fee.
I have a mortgage with Nationwide for my property in Birmingham. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nationwide?
Nationwide must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nationwide directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel lawyer.
My offer was accepted on a house in Birmingham on 3/9/2026, valuation was booked 3 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Virgin Money and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Are Virgin Money entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Virgin Money to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I am purchasing a new build house in Birmingham with a mortgage from Barclays Direct. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the extras as it will adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the UK Finance website. UK Finance 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Birmingham is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Birmingham are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Birmingham may ascertain 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 residence.
Last June I purchased a leasehold flat in Birmingham. Do I have any liability for 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).
Birmingham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
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The majority of Birmingham leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. If you purchase the flat you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £25-£75 but you need to check it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. What prohibitions exist in the Birmingham Lease? Generally speaking the cost for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Birmingham require tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.
I am in the process of purchasing my 1st house in Birmingham. Conveyancing solicitor already selected. The broker suggested that a survey is not appropriate as the property is just 20 yrs old.
At the very least you should order a Home Buyer's Report. Given the premises is more than 10 years old the property will not come with a warranty, so you would be well advised not to take a risk. For a property that age with no signs of defects a Home Buyer's report may be sufficient. They will highlight any apparent problems and suggest additional investigation where relevant. If there are any indications of material issues obtain a comprehensive structural survey.