We are purchasing a 1 bedroom flat in Broad Haven with a mortgage. We like our Broad Haven solicitor, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Broad Haven conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Broad Haven conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We are purchasing a newly constructed apartment in Broad Haven and my solicitor is advising me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the seller. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I have no desire to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Will my conveyancer be raising questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Broad Haven.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Broad Haven. There are those who acquire a house in Broad Haven, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of searches that can be carried out by the buyer or by their solicitors which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Broad Haven. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual question of the vendor to find out whether the premises has historically flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past which is not notified by the owner, then a buyer could issue a claim for damages as a result of such an incorrect reply. The buyer’s conveyancers will also conduct an environmental search. This should disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be carried out.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Broad Haven I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Broad Haven for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Am I best advised to go with a Broad Haven conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am buying? An old friend can deal with the legal work but they are based a couple of hundredmiles away.
The primary upside of using a local Broad Haven conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign documents, deliver your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and they were impressed that should outweigh using an unknown Broad Haven conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Broad Haven based.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Broad Haven. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Broad Haven who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Broad Haven conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Broad Haven Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying
-
Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that could add a premium to the service fees? The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. On the whole the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Broad Haven require tenants to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger works.