Completed the sale of my flat in Coombe Dingle last December but our buyer keeps e-mailing daily complaining that their solicitor needs to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale legalities now that I have sold?
Post completion of your sale your conveyancer is committed to forward the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. If applicable, your lawyer must also confirm that the mortgage has been paid off to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion procedures specific conveyancing in Coombe Dingle.
The Coombe Dingle conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Coombe Dingle have suddenly shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Lloyds conveyancing panel and my family Coombe Dingle lawyer was not. I paid them £170 in advance. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved 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 Lloyds 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 lawyers may be able to help.
A colleague advised me that if I am buying in Coombe Dingle I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Coombe Dingle conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Coombe Dingle around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Coombe Dingle Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Coombe Dingle.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Coombe Dingle?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Coombe Dingle. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Coombe Dingle conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Coombe Dingle conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Coombe Dingle conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:
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How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Coombe Dingle in the last year? What are the legal fees for lease extension work?
Coombe Dingle Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared amongst the tenants and will materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or necessitate a one time invoice. Generally speaking the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Coombe Dingle ask tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. Plenty Coombe Dingle leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the property you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly during the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.
What is the average conveyancing fee for conveyancing in Coombe Dingle?
The average cost in 2014 for conveyancing in Coombe Dingle was just over one thousand four hundred and fifty pounds excluding SDLT and Land Registry fees.