Is the fact that my solicitor in Halesowen is not on my mortgage company's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s work?

It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should simply call the Halesowen conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Halesowen?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Halesowen. 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…’

My husband and I are FTB’s - agreed a price, but the estate agent advised that the seller will only issue a contract if we use their recommended lawyers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local conveyancer who is familiar with conveyancing in Halesowen

It is highly unlikely the vendors are behind this. Should the seller desire ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a motivated buyer is likely to cause more damage than good. Bypass the agents and go straight to the sellers and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances in place © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you intend to instruct your preferred Halesowen conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or meet his conveyancing targets demanded by HQ.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Halesowen. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the maintenance contribution as normal as all rents and maintenance charges should be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Halesowen Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Many Halesowen leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the freeholder. If you purchase the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually periodically accross the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. Make sure you investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Halesowen. If you like the apartmentin Halesowen but your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you have a very difficult determination. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants benefit from control and even though a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

My cousin is buying a ground floor flat in Halesowen. He was given a quote by the connected to the selling agents totaling £1156 . It was 7 years ago since I sold and purchased a property and it cost was £495. Have charges really gone up that much?

We would recommend that you visit 3 or 4 local Halesowen conveyancing solicitors requesting prices. You should base your decision not solely on cost, but on promptness and on how comprehensive the reply is.