We are due to complete on the purchase of a property in Church Village but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have managed to agree compensation from the vendor in the sum of £3k taking the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process but Nationwide are not allowing this. Should they have been notified?
The conveyancing practitioner being on a Nationwide conveyancing panel is duty bound to advise Nationwide of any changes to the sale price. If you prohibit your property lawyer to disclose the reduction to Nationwide then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Nationwide and you would have to appoint a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Church Village.
A colleague pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Church Village there could be various restrictions preventing external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Church Village which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Church Village should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Can you help - my lawyer says that lack of planning permission insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Church Village?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between National Westminster Bank and Coventry Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Church Village. My mortgage broker suggested a lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £175. A few days later, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nottingham 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 Nottingham 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.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Church Village. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Church Village
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Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Church Village ahead of instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor advised that some banks may not issue a mortgage on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Nationwide. If you contact us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Church Village. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Church Village especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Church Village.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Church Village from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Church Village can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors. Some Church Village 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. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Church Village leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.
Church Village Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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Who manages the building? The majority of Church Village leasehold flats will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the property you will have to pay this charge, normally quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to check it because occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?
We own a leasehold flat in Church Village. Conveyancing was finalised in 2011. I have heard that I should not allow the lease length get too low. Why is that a problem?
Church Village residential long term leases are for a set period - usually just under one hundred years when they are first granted. However a significant flats in Church Village were constructed or converted in the 60’s and so such leases now have under 80 years unexpired. That may seem like a long time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions generally need leases to have at least seventy five years remaining to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are nearing seventy five years. To maximise your property value you should be considering whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease hits 80 years as when the lease falls below 80 years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.