My husband and I are purchasing a newly constructed duplex in Broadstairs and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I would rather not delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a lender 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.
My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Broadstairs. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?
Now that you are legally bound yourself to purchase you now have to hire the services of a conveyancing practitioner as a matter of urgency as you are facing a pending a fixed date to complete the property. An auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke auction set of papers. This should include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold premises the legal papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to pass this on to your appointed conveyancing solicitor ASAP. Do make sure that your finances are organised to complete on the on the contractual date .
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Broadstairs. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the UBS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the UBS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in May 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Aldermore are being problematic. The Broadstairs solicitor who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Aldermore are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Aldermore have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Aldermore have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Aldermore may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Should my conveyancer be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Broadstairs.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Broadstairs. There are those who acquire a house in Broadstairs, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Broadstairs. The standard property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual inquiry of the seller to discover whether the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the owner, then a buyer may commence a claim for damages resulting from an misleading answer. The purchaser’s conveyancers should also commission an environmental report. This will indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be carried out.
My wife and I purchased a semi-detached Victorian property in Broadstairs. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Halifax. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Broadstairs and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
Is it possible to change firm as I need to find one who is on the Santander conveyancing panel. I had appointed a local conveyancing solicitor in Broadstairs round the corner but the firm is not accepted by Santander
It would be our pleasure to help you find a conveyancing solicitor in Broadstairs on the Santander panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we work with do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Broadstairs. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this page, you can scrutinise fees for conveyancing solicitors in Broadstairs and throughout England and Wales.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Broadstairs from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Broadstairs can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ lawyers. If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled. A minority of Broadstairs leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Broadstairs leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
I invested in buying a garden flat in Broadstairs, conveyancing was carried out in 2005. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Broadstairs with over 90 years remaining are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2078
With just 52 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.