We were just about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in Chipping Barnet. We have hit a stumbling block. The mortgage offer with Virgin Money expires on 28/7/2025 but the owners are suggesting a completion date of 30/7/2025. Is it possible to prolong the mortgage offer?
The person best placed to deal with your concern is your solicitors who is in a position to determine if they should be discussing with the lender, vendor’s lawyers, estate agents or possibly all parties taking into account what has gone on in your conveyancing as of today.
Should conveyancers ask for money up-front when it comes to conveyancing in Chipping Barnet?
If you are buying a property in Chipping Barnet your solicitor will request that you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any down payment is as part of the sale price then this will be asked for immediately before exchange of contracts. The final balance that is due will be payable shortly before completion.
The Chipping Barnet conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Chipping Barnet have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I had to have a firm on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and my preferred Chipping Barnet lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
Should our lawyer be making enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Chipping Barnet.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors conducting conveyancing in Chipping Barnet. There are those who buy a property in Chipping Barnet, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that can be carried out by the buyer or by their lawyers which can figure out the risks in Chipping Barnet. The standard completed inquiry forms sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard question of the vendor to discover if the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the seller, then a purchaser could commence a legal claim for losses stemming from an incorrect reply. The purchaser’s conveyancers will also conduct an enviro report. This should disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be conducted.
I am buying a new build house in Chipping Barnet with a mortgage from Bank of Scotland. The sellers would not budge the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The house builders rep advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about this deal as it may adversely affect my mortgage with Bank of Scotland. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Chipping Barnet I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Chipping Barnet suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.