I am in the throes of porting my current residential loan to a Buy to Let Aldermore mortgage. I have been informed by my broker that I must appoint a lawyer as part of the process. I spoke to the same St James conveyancing practitioner who dealt with the legals when I initially purchased the premises. The fee calculation they've given of £500 has taken me by surprise as its a refinance than a sale or purchase.

The charges appear a little high. If you you were to look around you may be able to get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by as much as a hundred pounds. On the other hand, providing that you were satisfied with the legal work the firm provided you couldcome to rue choosing an an untested lawyer. If is important to check that the conveyancer can represent Aldermore. Do utilise our search tool to get a quote a St James conveyancing firm on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in St James.

Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in St James is more expensive?

St James leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving relevant notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. St James is the location of the property. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in St James are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in St James you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St James may ascertain 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 property.

Should I be wary about third parties that I am dealing with are recommending a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a local St James conveyancing practice?

As with many professional services, often recommendations from connections can be most helpful. Yet there are numerous people with a keen interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and banks may recommend solicitors to appoint. On occasion these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to appoint your own lawyer. However, bear in mind that the majority of mortgage providers have an approved list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the mortgage related work in your conveyancing.

Much to my surprise my solicitor in St James has informed me that he requires personal identification documents stating that this forms part of his retainer as a solicitor on the bank Conveyancing panel. Can you confirm whether this is the case?

Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the mortgage company. This is not unique to conveyancing in St James