The sellers of the house we are looking to purchase are using a conveyancing practitioner in Edenbridge who has insisted on a exclusivity agreement with a non-refundable deposit two thousand pounds. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
Exclusivity agreements are contracts between a home seller and prospective buyer granting the buyer the sole right to the sale of the property for a set period of time. For all intents and purposes, a lock out is a document stating that you will receive a contract at a later time being the contract for the actual sale. It tends to be utilised for buyer protection though in some cases, the owner may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are various positives and negatives to having an agreement but you should to check with your conveyancer but beware that it may result in costing you extra in conveyancing charges. For this these agreements are rare when it comes to conveyancing in Edenbridge.
Please help - my lawyer says that absentee landlord insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Edenbridge?
The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Yorkshire Building Society and Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
The mortgage over my property is with UBS for my property in Edenbridge. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform UBS?
UBS must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact UBS directly. You need not do this via a UBS conveyancing panel solicitor.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Edenbridge. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £175. A few days later, the solicitor contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nationwide panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
What will a local search inform me about the property we're purchasing in Edenbridge?
Edenbridge conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for example Searchflow The local search is essential in every Edenbridge conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search will supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic sections.
Me and my brother purchased a terraced Edwardian property in Edenbridge. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Santander. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Edenbridge and other areas of 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 position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
I'm converting the mortgage on my current house to a buy to let loan with Birmingham Midshires and I will use the ballance of the raised equity towards a second house. The location we are interested in is Edenbridge. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two banks and link together the two deals?
Do use our comparison tool on this site to be sure that the conveyancers are approved by both mortgage companies. Having checked that they are your lawyer will be able to simultaneously deal with the two deals but you should have a chat with you lawyer and make clear your desired outcome and requirements.
Why do I have to provide my conveyancing practitioner with various items of ID ahead of starting selling or buying a property in Edenbridge?
Edenbridge lawyers are obliged by the Law Society, SRA, HM Land Registry and current AML legislation to certify that the have checked the identity of their clients. It will also be a requirement of your bank where you are taking a mortgage. In addition they have to complete various forms, particularly those relating to stamp duty land tax and need to have details such as your full names, NI number and DOB.