My wife and I are acquiring a newly built duplex in Billingshurst and my lawyer is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the seller. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I have no desire to delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
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 requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
My lawyer in Billingshurst has never been on on the The Mortgage Works Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my prefered solicitor even though they are excluded from the The Mortgage Works approved list?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Billingshurst lawyers but The Mortgage Works will need to instruct a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional total legal fees as well as result in delays.
- Choose a new lawyer to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are Persuade your solicitor to use their best endeavours to join the The Mortgage Works conveyancing panel
I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in Billingshurst. I now require my papers but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Billingshurst of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Billingshurst and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Billingshurst. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Billingshurst area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Billingshurst. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
I have been sourcing a conveyancing solicitor in Billingshurst for my home move. Is it possible to see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?
You can review published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For information Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may recorded telephone calls for training reasons.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Billingshurst. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Leasehold Conveyancing in Billingshurst - A selection of Queries Prior to buying
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Are there any major works in the near future that could increase the maintenance costs? Most Billingshurst leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block set by the landlord. Where you acquire the flat you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments during the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant sum, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive. Be sure to investigate if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Billingshurst. If you like the propertyin Billingshurst yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a hard choice.