Can I use your services to recommend a Conveyancing solicitor in Cookley even where I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example where I want to buy an office in Cookley with a mortgage from Yorkshire Building Society?
The service is predominantly used to select domestic conveyancing solicitors in Cookley but we have recorded towards the end of this page a few Cookley commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the solicitors directly to check if they are also authorised to represent Yorkshire Building Society
In reviewing consumer advice sites for a high-quality solicitor in Cookley, many post that I must look for a CQS assured lawyer. Can you explain what CQS is?
Cookley Conveyancing Quality Scheme practices have obtained accreditation by the law Society CQS was created to establish evidence of quality standards in the in the legal transfer of properties. CQS helps house movers to recognise practices who provide a quality residential conveyancing. Cookley is one of the many areas in England and Wales in which accredited firms are located. The scheme obliges practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-certification, spot checks and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status. It is available to solicitors and not licensed conveyancers and has the support of the Association of British Insurers.
Can you point me to a directory of UBS panel solicitors in Cookley on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings viewable on the web. Where you are seeking to appoint a Cookley conveyancing practitioner on the UBS please make the most of our tool.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Cookley. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £150. A couple of days later, the solicitor called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Lloyds 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 Lloyds 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've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Cookley solicitor - who is on the RBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Cookley surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Cookley I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Cookley suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months 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 existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Cookley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Cookley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Cookley with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2090
You have 66 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
Developers have recommended to me a lawyer and I've obtained a quote from them. It's almost three hundred pounds less expensive than my local Cookley property lawyer. What's the catch?
Builders frequently have lists of conveyancing practitioners who expedite matters and who know the seller’s documentation and conveyancer. As many developers offer an incentive to choose a preferred property lawyer for this reason, any increased fees can be avoided and a developer won't put forward a conveyancing warehouse and run the risk of having the transaction stall when they need an exchange in 28 days. The argument for not opting for the recommended conveyancer is that they may be hesitant to fight for your interests for fear of upsetting the housebuilder. Where you have concerns that this may be the case you should remain with your high street Cookley lawyer.