I was notified today by my mortgage adviser that my Booker lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain if this is indeed the case?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Booker lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to inform you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Booker conveyancing firm that is on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.
As someone not used to conveyancing in Booker what’s your top tip you can give me for the ownership transfer in Booker
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Booker and elsewhere in Buckinghamshire is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of room for conflict between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. For example, the vendor, selling agent and even potentially a lender. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Booker is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the transaction whose role it is to act in your legal interests and to keep you safe.
On occasion a third party with a vested interest will try and persuade you that you should follow their advice. As an example, the selling agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your conveyancer is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is contrary to your solicitors guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.
three months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Booker took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Booker differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Booker come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because house builders in Booker tend to acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Booker or who has acted in the same development.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Booker is where the house is located. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Booker are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Booker you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Booker 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 am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Booker where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Booker conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is 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 buyer.
Booker Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy control and although a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. The majority of Booker leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this contribution, normally in instalments during the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that will add a premium to the maintenance costs?