It has come to my attention via my estate agent that my Sparkhill lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?

Your first step should be to call your Sparkhill lawyer directly. You lawyer should inform you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.

I require conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (five years built) in Sparkhill. The vast majority the appartments have already been sold. Do I need carry out the neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Sparkhill?

Where you are obtaining a mortgage, your bank will require some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Sparkhill conveyancing searches are optional. No doubt your conveyancer, will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you insist that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or it may be necessary to find a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Sparkhill.

4 months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Sparkhill completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I opted to have a survey done on a house in Sparkhill in advance of appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not give a loan on such a house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Halifax. If you contact us we can check via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Sparkhill. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Sparkhill to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Sparkhill conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sparkhill conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Sparkhill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be of use:

Can they put you in touch with clients in Sparkhill who can give a testimonial?

Sparkhill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

Its a good idea to discover as much as you can concerning the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters like the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of their management. In conclusion, be sure you understand the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and specifically what it includes. Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Sparkhill ask leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. What is the length of the lease?