My partner’s brother is a conveyancer. I expect that I will receive preferential pricing for conveyancing, but if not, what kind of fees should I be paying for conveyancing in Ashford?
It’s sensible to get two or three conveyancing estimates. Make use of our search tool on this site. You will notice that amounts may be different but service levels do differ between solicitors as is the case with the vast majority of professional services.
I am buying a brand new apartment in Ashford and my conveyancer is informing me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I have no desire to delay matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We are buying a terrace house in Ashford. We would like to carry out an extension to the side at the property.Will legal conveyancing on the property include checks to see if these works are prohibited?
Your solicitor will check the registered title as conveyancing in Ashford will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title deeds which restrict certain works or need the permission of a 3rd party. Some extensions call for local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
We previously instructed conveyancers locally in Ashford on the Co-operative solicitor panel. They are now charging me a supplemental amount for handling the Co-operative mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Co-operative?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor is entitled to levy a fee for this. The fee is not set by Co-operative but by your Ashford property lawyer. Some firms on the Co-operative panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many practices include it on their overall fee.
I have paid off my mortgage with HSBC. I assume I don't need a Ashford conveyancing practitioner on the HSBC panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your HSBC mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the HSBC mortgage from the register. HSBC, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where HSBC has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- HSBC has instructed the Land Registry to do so
What will a local search inform me regarding the property my wife and I purchasing in Ashford?
Ashford conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company such as Xpress Legal The local search is essential in every Ashford conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your new home. The search should provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic areas.
What makes your site different to other web based conveyancing solicitors for conveyancing in Ashford?
At this site get a fixed fee costs illustration via a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that appreciates the issues for your conveyancing in Ashford. Unlike many estate agents and brokerage sites we do not charge firms a fee if you instruct them for your property ownership legalities in Ashford
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Ashford where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ashford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ashford. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ashford flat is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 82.93 years.