My partner and I are purchasing a new build flat in Fetcham and my solicitor is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I would rather not delay matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We are purchasing a flat in Fetcham. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we have to put funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Fetcham. Conveyancing is needed. What is next?
Having legally committed yourself to purchase you must find a conveyancing solicitor soon as you are facing a fast approaching a drop dead date to complete the transaction. An auction property will have a bespoke legal set of papers. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold property the auction papers should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork relating to leasehold premises. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
The mortgage over my property is with RBS for my property in Fetcham. Conveyancing has been completed some time 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 buy-to-let mortgage or inform RBS?
You must advise RBS before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 RBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a RBS conveyancing panel solicitor.
What does a local search tell me regarding the house I am purchasing in Fetcham?
Fetcham conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Xpress Legal The local search is essential in every Fetcham conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search should 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 13 subject areas.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Fetcham I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Fetcham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
Last May I purchased a leasehold property in Fetcham. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Fetcham Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Please tell me if there are any major works in the near future that will add a premium to the maintenance fees?
My wife and I intend to purchase our 1st house in Fetcham. Conveyancing lawyer already appointed. The financial consultant pointed out that a survey is not necessary as the house is only 17 years old.
At the very least you should have a Home Buyer's Report. As the property is more than ten years old the property will not benefit from a warranty, so you don't want to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of defects a Home Buyer's report could be enough. They will highlight any obvious issues and suggest additional investigation where appropriate. If there are any indications of problems get a full structural survey.