As someone unfamiliar with conveyancing in Balsall Heath what is the number one tip you can give me concerning the legal transfer of property in Balsall Heath

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Balsall Heath or throughout Birmingham is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of room for conflict between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. For instance, the seller, selling agent and even potentially your bank. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Balsall Heath is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the legal process whose role it is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.

On occasion a third party with a vested interest will try and convince you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For example, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your solicitor is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may try to convince you to do take action that is contrary to your solicitors recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.

We are purchasing a property in Balsall Heath. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to put our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

My fiancee and I are in the throws of viewing flats in Balsall Heath and I am about to put in an offer. Is it sensible to have my property lawyer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with Santander.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Santander, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Santander conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Balsall Heath. My mortgage broker suggested a property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £225. Not long after, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Skipton panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I used Stirling Law several years ago for my conveyancing in Balsall Heath. I now require my papers but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should call 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 Balsall Heath of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am purchasing a new build house in Balsall Heath with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it will impact my loan with Yorkshire Building Society. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Balsall Heath. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Balsall Heath are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Balsall Heath in which case you should be looking for a Balsall Heath conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Balsall Heath, conveyancing having been completed 9 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Balsall Heath with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2095

With 71 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.