I am helping my step-mother sell her property in Aldeburgh. Does the solicitor arrange an energy performance certificate or should I organise this?
Following the demise of Home Packs, EPC’s was left as a compulsory part of moving house. An EPC needs to be to hand prior to the property being advertised. It is not as aspect of the sale process that lawyers normally organise. If you are instructing a Aldeburgh conveyancing practitioner they may be willing to arrange energy performance certificates due to their contacts with reputable local assessors
We are buying a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Aldeburgh. Our aim is to carry out an extension to the side at the property.Will legal due diligence on the property involve investigations to ascertain if these works are permitted?
Your property lawyer will check the deeds as conveyancing in Aldeburgh will sometimes reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain changes or need the consent of another owner. Certain extensions require local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Aldeburgh solicitor - who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Aldeburgh postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Aldeburgh.
We are purchasing a house and the solicitor has raised the issue of Chancel Repair for which the property could be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. He has suggested insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in Aldeburgh
Unless a previous acquisition of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you can take it that solicitors conducting conveyancing in Aldeburgh to continue to suggest a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Aldeburgh?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Aldeburgh. 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 purchasing my first flat in Aldeburgh with a mortgage from Virgin Money. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent suggested that I not inform my lawyer about this extras as it could jeopardize my loan with Virgin Money. 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.
We're FTB’s - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent informed us that the seller will only proceed if we appoint their preferred conveyancers as they need a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Aldeburgh
It is unlikely the vendors are behind this. If they want ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated buyer is going to damage their objectives. Bypass the agents and go straight to the owners and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances in place © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you intend to use your own,trusted Aldeburgh conveyancing firm - as opposed tothose that will give their estate agent a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing figures pre-set by HQ.
I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Aldeburgh. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as usual because all rents and service payments should be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.
I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Aldeburgh, conveyancing formalities finalised 5 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Aldeburgh with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100
With only 74 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.