My partner and I are hoping to buy a home in Griffithstown and have instructed a Griffithstown conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Griffithstown conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 property lawyer should contact your bank 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Griffithstown solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
The owners have very assertive vendors who has recommended a preliminary agreement with a non-refundable deposit 6,000. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
There are a couple of main downsides with entering into any lock out contract (also termed a no-shop agreement) is that it takes away the focus from progressing with the conveyancing process, so in the absence of it needing limited or no negotiation then it may turn out to be a hindrance. It is not strongly advocated by Griffithstown conveyancing practitioners for this reason. The other main concern is the extent of the remedies available - an aggrieved buyer is extremely unlikely to win an injunctive ruling by a court to prohibit the seller selling to another buyer, so the only remedy open via the agreement will be the reimbursement of wasted costs and, in limited situations, the additional payment of penalties.
What will a local search inform me regarding the property we're purchasing in Griffithstown?
Griffithstown conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations such as PSG The local search plays a central role in many a Griffithstown conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search will provide information 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.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house can not be found. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Griffithstown 10 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 held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and obtain up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually hold a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one close by in Griffithstown I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Griffithstown for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you need a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I am a sole trader hoping to lease a unit on the high street. Can you recommend lawyers offering competitive costs for non-domestic conveyancing in Griffithstown for under 1500k?
We can recommend firms who have specialist knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Griffithstown, including the disposal and acquisition of businesses as well as simply premises. Whether you are looking to buy or sell a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we will find you the right solicitor. Regarding the costs this will depend on the structure and terms of the proposed transaction. Let us have your contact information or call so as to enable us to furnish you with comprehensive commercial conveyancing calculation.