My partner and I are hoping to acquire a property in Freshwater Bay and are in fact using a Freshwater Bay conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Chelsea Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Freshwater Bay solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Freshwater Bay solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Freshwater Bay. I I would like to check whether they are on the Birmingham Midshires approved list of lawyers. Can you assist?
The first thing you should do is contact the lawyer and ask them if they can act for the bank. Alternatively you can call Birmingham Midshires who may be able to help.
I used Arc property Solicitors several years ago for my conveyancing in Freshwater Bay. Now, I need my files however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Freshwater Bay of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Freshwater Bay. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Freshwater Bay
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Please supply a car parking plan. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.
My husband and I are novice buyers - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent has warned us that the owners will only move forward if we use the agent's preferred lawyers as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local conveyancer who is accustomed to conveyancing in Freshwater Bay
It is unlikely the owners are behind this. Should the owner desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious buyer is counter productive. Contact the vendors directly and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you will continue to use your own,trusted Freshwater Bay conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a referral fee or hit his conveyancing targets demanded by senior management.
I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Freshwater Bay. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is discharge the maintenance contribution as normal as all rents and service invoices will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Freshwater Bay - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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The best form of lease structure is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other major work is due in the near future to be shared between the tenants and could well materially increase the the maintenance fees or result in a one time payment. Please note if it is less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension.