We hope to to purchase with Darlington Building Society. We have called around locally yet cant to find a Downham conveyancing firm on the Darlington Building Society approved list. Please you help?
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this web page. Please choose the building society and type Downham or your location and you will discover numerous solicitors located in Downham or nearest you.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Skipton as we wish to carry out improvements to our house in Downham. Do we need to choose a nearby Downham solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Skipton do not ordinarily require a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Skipton list.
My wife and I are in the process of looking at flats in Downham and I am about to put in an offer. Is it sensible to have a solicitor on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Nottingham.
It would be wise to instigate your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Nottingham, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Downham conveyancing practitioner having checked that they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide 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. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Downham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Downham.
My wife and I have a semi-detached Georgian house in Downham. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Clydesdale. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. Is it worth asking Clydesdale to clarify?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Downham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
How does conveyancing in Downham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Downham come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because new home sellers in Downham usually acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Downham or who has acted in the same development.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Downham is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in Downham are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Downham you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Downham may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Downham basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Downham conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Downham do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Downham conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Downham conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Downham property is Ravensbourne Lodge 4 Highland Road in February 2013. the Tribunal held that the amount payable for the freehold was £22,268