My wife and I are looking to buy a house in Clifton and are in fact using a Clifton conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Yorkshire Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Clifton lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Clifton lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property are lost. The lawyers who did the conveyancing in Clifton 10 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
You no longer need to hold title official documentation to prove you are the registered proprietor of land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
I'm buying a new build house in Clifton with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about the extras as it would jeopardize my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
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 ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Clifton I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Clifton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
Am I right to be wary about brokers that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an internet conveyancing firm rather than a local Clifton conveyancing company?
As is the case with lots of professional services, often referrals from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are many players in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may put forward lawyers to retain. Sometimes the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to appoint your own lawyer. You need to be aware that most banks operate an approved list of lawyers you must use for the mortgage related work in your transaction.
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Clifton. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Clifton ?
Most houses in Clifton are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Clifton so you should seriously consider looking for a Clifton conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.
I own a garden flat in Clifton, conveyancing formalities finalised October 2002. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Clifton with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2095
With just 69 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.