I am in the throes of swapping over from my current homeowner loan to a Buy to Let Nationwide Building Society mortgage. I have been informed by my broker that I must appoint a conveyancer for this. I spoke to my former Birmingham conveyancing practitioner who dealt with the legals when I originally bought the premises. The costs illustration they've given of £450 plus VAT has taken me by surprise as I am not require purchase conveyancing - it’s just a bog-standard refinance.

The estimate does seem a little on the high side. If you shop around you might shave off some of the cost by perhaps £100 plus VAT. That being said, assuming were satisfied with the legal work the firm offered you couldcome to rue choosing an an unknown solicitor. Remember to ensure that the firm can also act for Nationwide Building Society. You can use our search tool to select a Birmingham conveyancing firm on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Birmingham.

In the event thatI was to buy a straightforward housein Birmingham for cash and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much would I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Birmingham?

Any savings you would make will be limited to the disbursement for searches. The solicitor still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, correspond with the vendors conveyancing practitioner, SDLT submission, register the ownership etc. You might save a bit for them not needing to register a charge but it won't be a lot.

When can the exchange of contracts occur in residential conveyancing in Birmingham and do I need to attend the lawyers office?

Where you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Birmingham you are invited in to sign the paperwork. However, the firms we recommend supply countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give just as detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you electronically. The executing of the purchase agreement is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the conveyancer to address the formalities when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a lengthy "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.

I have justbecome aware that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Birmingham for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Birmingham conveyancing specialists.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Birmingham is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?

Flying freeholds in Birmingham are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Birmingham may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.