The vendors of the home we are looking to purchase hired a conveyancing solicitor in Cirencester who has insisted on a preliminary contract with a non-refundable deposit two thousand pounds. Are such arrangements appropriate for Cirencester conveyancing transactions?
Exclusivity contracts are agreements between a home vendor and purchaser granting the buyer exclusive rights to the sale of the property for a set period of time. Essentially, a lock out agreement is a contract stating that you should be issued with a contract at a later time which is the main conveyancing contract. It tends to be used for buyer confidence though in many situations, the proprietor may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are numerous positives and negatives to using an agreement but you should to check with your lawyer but note that it may result in incurring extra in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these contracts are not popular in relation to conveyancing in Cirencester.
I am selling my house in Cirencester. Will the conveyancer have to be required to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are a common cause of delay in Cirencester conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Cirencester.
I am buying a new build house in Cirencester with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The developers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about the extras as it may jeopardize my loan with Bank of Scotland. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Cirencester I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Cirencester suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Developers have recommended to me a property lawyer and I've received a quote from them. It's almost three hundred pounds cheaper than my preferred Cirencester solicitor. What's the catch?
Developers normally have panels of lawyers who are quick and who know the seller’s paperwork and lawyer. As many developers offer an incentive to choose a preferred property lawyer for this reason, any increased cost can be avoided and a builder won't suggest a conveyancing factory and run the risk of having the conveyancing delayed when they require an exchange within a tight time frame. A counter-argument for not agreeing to use the recommended solicitor is that they may prove reluctant to fight for your interests for fear of upsetting the developer. If you worry that this may be the case you should remain with your high street Cirencester property lawyer.