We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to appoint their panel lawyer as I would prefer to use a Brecon based conveyancing firm?
You should check but the chances are that appoint one of their panel solicitors should you take up the "fee-free" incentive. Speak to the mortgage company and see if they offer you a cash alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Brecon.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as a 1st time buyer of a garden flat in Brecon. Do I pick up the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Brecon?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be called to collect the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.
I am expecting a DIP from Virgin Money this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Virgin Money recommend any Brecon solicitors on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Brecon solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Virgin Money through the process.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Brecon off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Kent Reliance. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
My friend suggested that where I am buying in Brecon I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Brecon conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Brecon around the property and the people living there. It includes 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, Brecon Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Brecon.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Brecon?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Brecon. 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Brecon where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Brecon conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
Brecon Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying
-
What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat? Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other significant cost is due in the near future to be shared between the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or result in a specific payment. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?
My 20yr old son is about to join the property ladder, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the apartment we called the mortgage institution to issue the formal offer. I was very surprised to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all conveyancing practitioner, they have to be on a list, is this legal?
Lenders ordinarily restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Brecon solicitor on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Presumably not.