PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

How to feel sure for your conveyancer?

Options
xpi
xpi Posts: 13 Forumite
edited 1 June 2016 at 11:51PM in House buying, renting & selling
Hi

We are searching for the person who can do conveyancing for our house purchase. The purchase involves also the following: (1) lease extension on completion (2) ensure tenants currently living in the flat will move out; The rest looks like the standard purchase.

Do we need our conveyancer any qualification / licence for that? I see that there are licensed solicitors, licensed conveyancers and I suggest other options including people without any license. Does it matter if we don't find any license for our conveyancer?

Are there any sources of information to get a review about the chosen person except random googling? I was thinking we may ask a recommendation from the previous client. However it will require (1) contacts of the client (2) proof of purchase with that conveyancer. I don't know how we could (a) convince the solicitor (b) find anything in open sources for that..

I may look too paranoid, but it looks like we are not the only one who struggles to find the right person.

Thank you!

Comments

  • nubbins
    nubbins Posts: 725 Forumite
    Usually word of mouth. I last used RMNJ who were not too bad or have a look at https://www.reallymoving.com.

    They days they do not need to be local.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 17,943 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    xpi wrote: »
    (1) lease extension on completion (2) ensure tenants currently living in the flat will move out;

    You will probably need legal advice on these things, so I would tend to use a property solicitor (rather than a licensed conveyancer).


    (2) is fairly straightforward - most conveyancing solicitors should be able to advise you on that. (But bear in mind, if the tenants are difficult and don't want to go - you might be waiting up to 6 months or more for them to be evicted, before you can proceed with the purchase.)

    (1) is a little more complicated. It's probably an informal lease extension. So you need professional advice to confirm that it's a 'good' lease extension, and that the price is fair.

    In my experience, solicitors aren't experienced in valuing lease extensions. In your position, I would seek advice from a specialist lease extension valuer.
  • xpi
    xpi Posts: 13 Forumite
    (1) is a little more complicated. It's probably an informal lease extension. So you need professional advice to confirm that it's a 'good' lease extension, and that the price is fair.

    The vendor did received the quote. Do you mean there is no legal document which we can request to prove that the least extension price was given correctly? We have indirect confirmation from general internet services that also suggested the similar amount. Does the price variates highly and such services could be badly wrong?
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 17,943 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    xpi wrote: »
    The vendor did received the quote. Do you mean there is no legal document which we can request to prove that the least extension price was given correctly? We have indirect confirmation from general internet services that also suggested the similar amount. Does the price variates highly and such services could be badly wrong?

    If it's an informal lease extension, the freeholder can quote any price they like - they could ask for £1,000 or £100,000. (There is no concept of a legal document.)

    The very important things to check are the ground rent and additional term.

    The online internet lease extension calculators assume that the ground rent is dropping to zero (a peppercorn), and the lease term is being extended by 90 years.

    If that's what the freeholder is offering, it's a fair comparison


    But If the ground rent isn't dropping to zero (a peppercorn), or even worse, if the ground rent will increase - you need to take specialist advice before proceeding.
  • xpi
    xpi Posts: 13 Forumite
    We have just tried the company which says: "CompanyName will introduce you to a solicitor to complete the conveyancing service for you". However the person they provided to us is neither a licensed conveyancer nor an SRA solicitor. (sounds like the broke the terms and services for me!). Just a person who does conveyancing for a bunch of years. I really don't understand what are my risks in this case?

    eddddy, regarding to your words we can have a bad lease extension. However I can check the ground rent and the additional term.

    Is there smth else that we may have an issue with?

    Thank you!
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.7K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.7K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.8K Life & Family
  • 256.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.