The property market in Grantham is heating up. What can I do to hasten the legal process?
Where the seller is applying a tight deadline for your conveyancing it is advisable to make sure that your solicitor is familiar with the location as they will make use of local contacts and intelligence. It is possible that they would have handled previoushomes in the same street. You would be best advised to use a Grantham conveyancing solicitor. In addition, ensure that the lawyer is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is believed that 18% of Grantham conveyancing deals are frustrated or derailed after discovering a purchaser’s conveyancer was not on their banks member panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the legal process being frustrated by as much as three weeks. It is understood that this issue impacts approximately 100,000 home moves annually. Almost all Grantham conveyancing firms can not represent certain banks so do check at the outset.
Are the Grantham conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the UBS conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by UBS?
Grantham conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from UBS directly.
is it true that all Grantham conveyancing solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Principality conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be regulated by the CLC.
We are getting the release of further monies on our mortgage from TSB as we intend to carry out renovations to our property in Grantham. Are we obliged to appoint a high street Grantham solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
TSB don't usually instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the TSB conveyancing panel.
I currently have a mortgage with Principality for my property in Grantham. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. In the event that I decide 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 Principality?
Principality must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Principality’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 Principality directly. You need not do this via a Principality conveyancing panel lawyer.
I'm buying a new build house in Grantham with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The house builders rep advised me not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it may adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Last September I purchased a leasehold house in Grantham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
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 be sure 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).
Leasehold Conveyancing in Grantham - A selection of Queries Prior to buying
-
How many years remain on the lease? You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will affect the value of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this will be. For most Granthamlease extensions you would be required to have owned the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Grantham obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major works.
What can I expect to pay for conveyancing in Grantham?
The amount you are levied for Grantham conveyancing charges may vary significantly from solicitor to solicitor. Given these variations it is particularly important that you have a complete summary of fees when you first choose a conveyancer. It is advisable to find a few like for like quotes.