It is a dozen years since I bought my home in Kings Heath. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't find the title documents. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Kings Heath involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Kings Heath. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Aldermore have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Aldermore your lawyer must check the formal instructions contained in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Aldermore. The CML Handbook includes minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Aldermore where a lease fails to comply with these specifications. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Kings Heath.
I'm in the process of viewing flats in Kings Heath and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have my lawyer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a mortgage with Co-operative.
It would be prudent to instigate 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 pass their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Co-operative, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Kings Heath. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
I used Wolstenholmes several years ago for my conveyancing in Kings Heath. Now, I need the files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Kings Heath of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one close by in Kings Heath I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kings Heath in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the 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 could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.
Am I better off to use a Kings Heath conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? We have a good friend who can conduct the legal work however they are based 300kilometers away.
The primary upside of using a local Kings Heath conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to execute documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Kings Heath know how is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and they were impressed that must surpass using an unknown Kings Heath conveyancing solicitor just because they are Kings Heath based.
My 20yr old son is about to join the property ladder, he had his mortgage in principle. When the offer was accepted on apartment we called the building society to progress the mortgage application. I was disappointed to learn that banks do not accept all conveyancing practitioner, they must be on their panel, is this legal?
Lenders normally imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Kings Heath conveyancing practitioner on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Presumably not.