Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Darwen?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Darwen your solicitor will request that you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. Ordinarily this is called for to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. When the deposit is as part of the sale price then this will be asked for immediately in advance of exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is due will be payable a couple of days ahead of the completion date.
My grandfather passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Darwen. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Yorkshire BS, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Yorkshire BS will require that you use a conveyancer on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Yorkshire BS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
A relative informed me that in purchasing a property in Darwen there may be various restrictions preventing external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Darwen which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Darwen should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Is it correct that all Darwen CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Lloyds conveyancing list of approved solicitors?
A selection of banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels.
At last I have had an offer on a flat in Darwen accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on a property, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Darwen. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Leeds Building Society?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Darwen conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your solicitor is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent steps this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. In a rising market many buyers would apply for a home loan with Leeds Building Society and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with the conveyancing in Darwen.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Darwen ahead of retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will not grant a loan on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you call us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Darwen. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Am I right to be wary about estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Darwen conveyancing practice?
As with lots of service providers, often recommendations from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are lots of people with a vested interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all recommend conveyancers to appoint. Sometimes the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are free to choose your preferred conveyancer. You need to be aware that many banks specify a panel list of solicitors you have to use for the lender aspect of your transaction.
I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Darwen. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
It best that you discharge the service charge as usual given that all ground rent and service invoices will be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I own a ground floor flat in Darwen, conveyancing having been completed in 2008. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Darwen with a long lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082
With 58 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £22,800 and £26,400 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 cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.