A friend recommended that if I am purchasing in Harborne I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Harborne conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Harborne around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Harborne Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Harborne.

Have completed on a a detached house in Harborne , how long will it take for the Land Registry to register the transfer to my name? My Harborne conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to check that my purchase is registered.

There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Harborne registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can adjust depending on who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry have to notify any interested persons or bodies. At present in the region of 80% of submission are fully dealt with within two weeks but some can be subject to extensive hold-ups. Historically registration takes place after the purchaser is living at the premises therefore registration formalities is not always an essential issue but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer must communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.

I need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Harborne for my house move. Can I check a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

One may see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded call for training reasons.

Are there common defects that you encounter in leases for Harborne properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Harborne is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Harborne, conveyancing having been completed December 1997. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Harborne with an extended lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2103

With only 78 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Online research suggests that Harborne solicitors are more costly than licensed conveyancers in Harborne when it comes to purchasing a property. So is it better if I use a conveyancer or a solicitor where I am buying a house in Harborne.

When it comes to conveyancing in Harborne the costs are unlikely to vary dramatically depending on whether the legal expert is a licenced conveyancer or solicitor.