The conveyancer who assisted with my previous purchase has given a fee calculation of £1150 for freehold conveyancing in Empingham. I am looking to sell a Edwardian detached home for £200,000. This sounds over the top. Is it in excess of what I should be paying for conveyancing in Empingham?

The charges are a bit high. If you are willing to invest time contrasting prices you might reduce the fees slightly by perhaps £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, you couldlive to rue opting for an a cheaper solicitor. Remember to be sure that the conveyancer can also act for your bank. Do use our search tool to find a Empingham conveyancing firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Empingham.

Our solicitor has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Empingham. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer has advised that he must be satisfied that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

Our lender has suggested solicitors on their panel based in Empingham but I would rather choose a conveyancing lawyer in Empingham or nearer to where I live. Can you assist?

Not all Empingham conveyancing solicitors are on all banks conveyancing panel. Do make use of our search tool to locate a Empingham conveyancing firm on the on the bank panel.

Am I better off to instruct a Empingham conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can execute the legal formalities but her office is over three hundred miles away.

The benefit of a local Empingham conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and the majority were content that must outweigh using an unfamiliar Empingham conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Empingham. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as usual because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Empingham - Examples of Queries before buying

You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the premises for two years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? What is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent?