It has come to my attention via my lender that my East Sussex property lawyer is not on the lender Solicitor panel. What can I do to check?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your East Sussex lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a East Sussex conveyancing practice that is on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.
When can the exchange of contracts occur in domestic conveyancing in East Sussex and am I required to be at the solicitors office?
If you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in East Sussex you are invited in to sign the paperwork. That being said, the lender approved solicitors we work with supply a countrywide conveyancing service and provide just as comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you electronically. The executing of the contract is not the important part. A signed contract is necessary for the solicitor to exchange contracts when the time is right, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a lengthy "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in East Sussex)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
My Conveyancer in East Sussex is not listed on the Skipton Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Skipton Building Society list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your preferred East Sussex lawyers but Skipton Building Society will need to use a lawyer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the overall conveyancing charges and cause delays.
- Get a new practitioner to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are on the Skipton Building Society panel
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property can not be found. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in East Sussex 5 years ago have long since closed. What are my options?
As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be documented by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is possible to perform a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and get up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for a small fee.
I own a leasehold house in East Sussex. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in East Sussex who previously acted has now retired. What should I do?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a East Sussex conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
East Sussex Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing
-
Who is in charge of the block? Plenty East Sussex leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you buy the property you will have to pay this charge, usually in instalments during the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. Does this lease have more than 90 years left?
My partner and I hope to buy our first home in East Sussex. Conveyancing lawyer already selected. The financial consultant pointed out that a survey is not necessary as the property was only constructed 16 yrs ago.
You would be best advised to take a Home Buyer's Report. Given the residence is over ten years old the property will be without a warranty, so you would be well advised not to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of problems a Home Buyer's report may be sufficient. They will highlight any obvious issues and recommend further investigation if relevant. Where there are any signs of problems obtain a full structural survey.