The solicitor who dealt with my former purchase has sent a quote for £995 for fixed fee conveyancing in Southfields. I am hoping to downsize from a Georgian detached home for £250,000. Are these estimated fees excessive? Is it above the norm for conveyancing in Southfields?
The quote is fractionally on the high side. If you are happy to expend time comparing costs you could reduce the fees marginally by perhaps £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, you mightlive to rue choosing an a cheaper lawyer. Don't forget to check the firm can also act for your lender. You can utilise our comparison tool to find a Southfields conveyancing practice on the lender’s member panel which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Southfields.
We are acquiring our first property. The conveyancing practitioner has texted usto enquire if we want to take out extra conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's needed for conveyancing in Southfields
The scope of Southfields conveyancing searches should be dictated entirely on the property, the location, the likelihood of any of these risks, your familiarity of the area and risks, your general appetite to risk. What is important is that you adequately understand what information the searches could give you. Then you can decide if you consider that you need that search. If uncertain, ask the conveyancing practitioner to advise.
It is a dozen years since I bought my house in Southfields. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I can't find the title deeds. Will this cause complications?
You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be with the mortgage company or they may still be with the solicitor who handled your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Southfields relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Southfields?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Southfields. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Should I choose a Southfields conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can perform the conveyancing however they are based 400miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Southfields conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Southfields know how is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and in the main were happy that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Southfields conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Southfields based.