The Droitwich Spa conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Droitwich Spa have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and my previous Droitwich Spa lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What do I do now?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.

Do I choose a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Droitwich Spa?

Two types of professional can conduct conveyancing in Droitwich Spa namely licenced conveyancers or solicitors. The two can handle conveyancing services that required to complete the sale or acquisition of property. They are both duty bound to execute Droitwich Spa conveyancing on similar standards and guidelines so you may be sure that your conveyancing will be professionally conducted and that all requisite steps will be correctly followed.

When it comes to lenders such as Kent Reliance, do Droitwich Spa conveyancing practitioners have to pay an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I'm at the point of looking at houses in Droitwich Spa and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a mortgage with Santander.

It would be sensible to commence your search sooner rather than later. 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 details on to the EA. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Santander, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel.

Will our conveyancer be raising questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Droitwich Spa.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Droitwich Spa. There are those who acquire a house in Droitwich Spa, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Droitwich Spa. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the owner to find out whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer may commence a compensation claim as a result of such an incorrect response. The buyer’s conveyancers may also commission an enviro search. This should reveal if there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be initiated.

I'm buying a new build house in Droitwich Spa with a loan from Britannia. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this extras as it would adversely affect my mortgage with Britannia. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Droitwich Spa what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Droitwich Spa. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I acquired a studio flat in Droitwich Spa, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Droitwich Spa with over 90 years remaining are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

With only 51 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as 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 in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.