I am helping my step-mother sell her property in Berkshire. Does the conveyancer order the energy assessment or it is for the owner to see to?
After the demise of HIPs, energy assessments was left as a mandatory part of selling a property. An energy assessment should be to hand before the property is put on the market. It is not a task that lawyers normally organise. Where you are using a Berkshire conveyancing lawyer they may help arrange energy assessments given their relationships with reputable Berkshire assessors
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Coventry BS. Berkshire conveyancing lawyers are selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Coventry BS?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Coventry BS completed the valuation? Have you informed Coventry BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with UBS. I assume I don't need a Berkshire property lawyer on the UBS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your UBS 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 UBS mortgage from the register. UBS, 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 UBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- UBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
A friend recommended that if I am purchasing in Berkshire I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Berkshire conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Berkshire around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Berkshire.
I am buying my first flat in Berkshire benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage 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.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Berkshire is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Berkshire are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Berkshire you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Berkshire may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Berkshire. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the maintenance contribution as usual as all rents and maintenance charges should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Berkshire - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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What restrictions exist in the Berkshire Lease? Be sure to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Berkshire. If you like the propertyin Berkshire but your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced difficult compromise.
My wife and I today discovered that one of the directors of the law firm undertaking the purchase conveyancing in Berkshire is a relative of the seller. Is this allowed?
Provided no conflict arises this is permitted. If you are needing mortgage finance then the lender may have a say as many mortgage companies have specific instructions concerning this. For example for HSBC as of 1/6/2025, the requirements read as follows :