My partner and I are looking to purchase a flat in Earl Shilton and have instructed a Earl Shilton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Earl Shilton lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional 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 mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Earl Shilton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
In the event thatI was to acquire a straightforward propertyin Earl Shilton mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Earl Shilton?
The only reduction in fees you would achieve is the disbursement for searches. The conveyancer is obliged to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, liaising with the vendors conveyancer, stamp duty submission, register the ownership etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a charge but it won't be significant.
I purchased a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Earl Shilton. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Halifax. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to review 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 Earl Shilton and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
How does conveyancing in Earl Shilton differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Earl Shilton approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because developers in Earl Shilton tend to buy the real estate, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Earl Shilton or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Earl Shilton ahead of retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not issue a mortgage on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Earl Shilton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Earl Shilton to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Earl Shilton where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Earl Shilton conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Earl Shilton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying
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It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared between the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the service fees or result in a one off payment. How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat? Please inform me if there are any major works anticipated that will likely increase the service fees?