The conveyancer who dealt with my former purchase has given a fee calculation of £995 for leasehold conveyancing in Westbourne. I am selling a Victorian house for £300,000. Is this over the top? Is it above what I should be paying for conveyancing in Westbourne?

The estimate does seem marginally overpriced. If you shop around you could decrease the fees slightly by say a hundred pounds. On the other hand, you couldcome to rue opting for an an untested conveyancer. Don't forget to enquire that the conveyancer can act for your mortgage company. You can employ our comparison tool to select a Westbourne conveyancing firm on the lender’s approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Westbourne.

How does conveyancing in Westbourne differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Westbourne approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because new home sellers in Westbourne tend to buy the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Westbourne or who has acted in the same development.

Given that I will soon spend 450k on a property in Westbourne I would like to have a conversation with the solicitor regarding thetransaction before instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the solicitor who will be conducting your property ownership legalities in Westbourne.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a case number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Westbourne should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Westbourne conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Westbourne conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Westbourne conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be of use:

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason? What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Westbourne - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Many Westbourne leasehold flats will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied by the management company. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically throughout the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a large amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to check it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the tenants? Who is in charge of the building?

The conveyancing solicitors handling our conveyancing in Westbourne has sent documents to review that show the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Is it not the case that all property in Westbourne are registered?

It is unusual for property in Westbourne not to be registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Plenty of Westbourne conveyancing practitioners will be able to handle such matters but where uncertainty reigns the usual advice presently is for the seller to register it first and then deal with the dispose of the property to the purchaser - this this chain of events will result in a significant delay.