Having been told to check out your site we were going to appoint conveyancing solicitor in Stafford recommended by you but stumbled across alternative fee calculations on the internet appear cheaper – how come?

You can find many firms of conveyancers offering theoretically looks to be cut price. We would urge you to think long and hard as to how much you respect your own move to want to take 'cheap' risks over the standard of the conveyancing. Many of them highlight a cheap quote to grab your attention but conceal extra costs in the small print..

It is a dozen years since I purchased my house in Stafford. Conveyancing solicitors have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down the title deeds. Will this cause complications?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by the lender or they could be archived with the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Stafford relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Stafford?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Stafford. 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…’

I am buying my first flat in Stafford with a loan from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about the deal as it will put at risk my loan with the lender. 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £300,000 garden flat in Stafford in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Stafford?

For most leasehold sales in Stafford conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Completing conveyancing due diligence questions Where consent is required before sale in Stafford Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stafford leasehold property is £350. For Stafford conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

Stafford Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

You should want to discover as much as possible about the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and specifically what it includes. Does the lease have in excess of 90 years remaining? How much is the ground rent and service charge?